Mathematics is discovered by looking at examples, noticing patterns, making conjectures, and testing those conjectures. Once discovered, the final results get organized and put in textbooks. The details and the excitement of the discovery are lost. This book introduces the reader to the excitement of the original discovery. By means of a wide variety of tasks, readers are led to find interesting examples, notice patterns, devise rules to explain the patterns, and discover mathematics for themselves. The subject studied here is the mathematics behind the idea of symmetry, but the methods and ideas apply to all of mathematics. The only prerequisites are enthusiasm and a knowledge of basic high-school math. The book is only a guide. It will start you off in the right direction and bring you back if you stray too far. The excitement and the discovery are left to you.

In most mathematics textbooks, the most exciting part of mathematics - the process of invention and discovery - is completely hidden from the student. The aim of Knots and Surfaces is to change all that. Knots and Surfaces guides the reader through Euler's formula, one and two-sided surfaces, and knot theory using games and examples. By means of a series of carefully selected tasks, this book leads the reader on to discover some real mathematics. There are no formulas to memorize; no procedures to follow. This book is a guide to the mathematics - it starts you in the right direction and brings you back if you stray too far. Discovery is left to you. This book is aimed at undergraduates and those with little background knowledge of mathematics.

This is a gentle introduction to the vocabulary and many of the highlights of elementary group theory. Written in an informal style, the material is divided into short sections, each of which deals with an important result or a new idea. Includes more than 300 exercises and approximately 60 illustrations.

Comprehensive text which develops the notion of symmetric generation and applies the technique to sporadic simple groups.

Through a careful treatment of number theory and geometry, Number, Shape, & Symmetry: An Introduction to Number Theory, Geometry, and Group Theory helps readers understand serious mathematical ideas and proofs. Classroom-tested, the book draws on the authors’ successful work with undergraduate students at the University of Chicago, seventh to tenth grade mathematically talented students in the University of Chicago’s Young Scholars Program, and elementary public school teachers in the Seminars for Endorsement in Science and Mathematics Education (SESAME). The first half of the book focuses on number theory, beginning with the rules of arithmetic (axioms for the integers). The authors then present all the basic ideas and applications of divisibility, primes, and modular arithmetic. They also introduce the abstract notion of a group and include numerous examples. The final topics on number theory consist of rational numbers, real numbers, and ideas about infinity. Moving on to geometry, the text covers polygons and polyhedra, including the construction of regular polygons and regular polyhedra. It studies tessellation by looking at patterns in the plane, especially those made by regular polygons or sets of regular polygons. The text also determines the symmetry groups of these figures and patterns, demonstrating how groups arise in both geometry and number theory. The book is suitable for pre-service or in-service training for elementary school teachers, general education mathematics or math for liberal arts undergraduate-level courses, and enrichment activities for high school students or math clubs.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement encourages faculty to view teaching “problems” as invitations to conduct scholarly investigations. In this growing field of inquiry faculty bring their disciplinary knowledge and teaching experience to bear on questions of teaching and learning. They systematically gather evidence to develop and support their conclusions. The results are to be peer reviewed and made public for others to build on. This Notes volume is written expressly for collegiate mathematics faculty who want to know more about conducting scholarly investigations into their teaching and their students’ learning. Envisioned and edited by two mathematics faculty, the volume serves as a how-to guide for doing SoTL in mathematics.

Mathematics research papers provide a forum for all mathematics enthusiasts to exercise their mathematical experience, expertise and excitement. The research paper process epitomizes the differentiation of instruction, as each student chooses their own topic and extends it as far as their motivation and desire takes them. The features and benefits of the research paper process offer a natural alignment with all eight Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice. Writing Math Research Papers serves both as a text for students and as a resource for instructors and administrators. The Writing Math Research Papers program started at North Shore High School in 1991, and it received the 1997 Chevron Best Practices in Education Award as the premier high school math course in the United States. Author Robert Gerver’s articles on high school mathematics research programs were featured in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics publication Developing Mathematically Promising Students, the NCTM’s 1999 Yearbook, Developing Mathematical Reasoning in Grades K – 12, and in the September 2017 issue of the Mathematics Teacher.