Volume 3, Number 10

9 March 1998 Vol. 3, No. 10 THE MATH FORUM INTERNET NEWS Pi Day | NCTM Standards 2000 | TIMMS Results - 12th Grade PI DAY - MARCH 14 "Thank you for the electronic newsletter each week. I look forward to it. Do you have any resource to which we can refer for a celebration of pi on March 14?" You're welcome! Here is a site that might be useful, one with a pizza project for Pi Day: - Activities for Pi Mathematics: http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Edu/RSE/RSEorange/Piactivities.html - Ivars Peterson's articles are always readable: http://www.maa.org/mathland/mathland_3_11.html - Ask Dr. Math has a whole section of answers to questions about pi: http://mathforum.org/dr.math/tocs/pi.middle.html - Use your browser's FIND function to look for sites about pi on the Math Forum's ABOUT NUMBERS page: http://mathforum.org/~steve/steve/numbers.html - Visit Yahoo's Pi Page (Mathematics:Numbers:Specific Numbers:Pi) for songs, poetry, and much, much more: http://www.yahoo.com/Science/Mathematics/Numbers/Specific_Numbers/PI/ - _The Joy of Pi_ by David Blatner is a wonderful little book that makes clear why so many have been fascinated by this number. Search http://www.amazon.com/. \|/ Do you celebrate Pi Day in your classes? If you do, we'd like to hear about it. Send a description or a URL illustrating your favorite project to sarah@mathforum.org and we'll put the best on the Web to spark the imaginations of other teachers. -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- NCTM STANDARDS 2000 - WEB DISCUSSION http://mathforum.org/epigone/standards-2000 A new discussion group devoted to public input on the NCTM Standards 2000 project to update, clarify, and synthesize K12 mathematics standards in the United States. This discussion will cover issues instrumental in the development of the draft of the Standards 2000 document, due to be released in fall of 1998. Questions to be posted by the moderator will include such concerns as areas of mathematics deserving of emphasis, mathematical thinking skills, philosophies and practices, basic skills and conceptual understanding, and access and equity. To participate in the discussion, select the URL given above or point your browser to http://www.nctm.org/standards2000/ and click on "join the discussion...." You will see a list of topics currently being discussed; when you select a topic, messages posted on that topic will be listed. You can read these messages and add your own thoughts, or post a message on a new topic. If you do not have access to the Web, you may comment on Standards 2000 by e-mailing future@nctm.org or sending regular mail to Future of the NCTM Standards 1906 Association Dr. Reston, VA 20191-1593 Sessions on Standards 2000 at which you can provide your input are also being held at each NCTM regional conference and at the annual meeting: http://www.nctm.org/meetings/1998/Annual/ Conduct a search of the sessions for the phrase Standards 2000. -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- TIMSS - FINAL YEAR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL http://wwwcsteep.bc.edu/TIMSS1/HiLightC.html The latest results are in from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Tops in mathematics and science literacy were the Netherlands and Sweden. Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand, and Austria were also above the international average of the 21 countries surveyed. Below the international average were Hungary, the Russian Federation, Italy, the United States, Lithuania, Cyprus, and South Africa. "There is something wrong with the system, and it is our generation's responsibility to fix it," President Clinton said. "You cannot blame the schoolchildren. There is no excuse for this." (San Francisco Chronicle) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1998/02/25/MN54903.DTL For more on the Web and other newspaper articles, see - TIMSS United States "Are There surprises in the TIMSS Twelfth Grade Results?" Press statement by William H. Schmidt, U.S. TIMMS National Research Coordinator. Also "Facing the Consequences," the Executive Summary (PDF format). http://timss.msu.edu/ - National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) - TIMSS http://nces.ed.gov/timss/ - "U.S. High School Seniors Rank Near Bottom" (Washington Post) http://www.WashingtonPost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-02/25/134l-022598-idx.html - "US 12th-Graders Miss the Mark" (Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/02/25/us/us.5.html \|/ The high school results are being discussed on the MATH-TEACH mailing list: http://mathforum.org/epigone/math-teach/zhargunsner See Steve Cohen's message of 25 February 1998 for the text of the New York Times article, "U.S. High School Seniors Among Worst in Math and Science." For more of the discussion, search the archives for TIMSS: http://mathforum.org/discussions/epi-search/nctm.l.html -|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|-\-/-|- CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE: The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/ Ask Dr. Math http://mathforum.org/dr.math/ Problems of the Week http://mathforum.org/students/ Internet Resources http://mathforum.org/~steve/ Join the Math Forum http://mathforum.org/join.forum.html Send comments to the Math Forum Internet Newsletter editors _o \o_ __| \ / |__ o _ o/ \o/ __|- __/ \__/o \o | o/ o/__/ /\ /| | \ \ / \ / \ /o\ / \ / \ / | / \ / \

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