Conducting a Mathematical Investigation

By
DR. MILLARD R. MAMHOT
November 9, 2017
Tanjay, Negros Oriental
Outline:
I. Difference between problem-solving and mathematical investigation
II. Benefits and importance of mathematical investigations
III. Outfitting a mathematical investigation
IV. Scaffolding
V. Sample Written Report and Conjecture Verification
VI. Some rubrics for MI
VII. Examples of mathematical investigations

I. Difference Between Problem-Solving And Mathematical Investigation

Problem-solving – closed problems, has a beginning and has an end.

- Has a clear goal specified in the statement of the problem
- Is a convergent activity with a well-defined goal and answer

Mathematical investigation – systematic exploration of open situations that have mathematical

features;
- Demand an open-minded and multi-faceted approach
- An open-ended problem or statement that lends itself to the possibility of multiple
pathways being explored, leading to a variety of ideas and/or solutions;
- Exploration of an unknown land where the journey is the goal, not the destination.
- Allows students to ask their own questions, explore their own interests, and set
their own goals (Jaworski, 1994)

In terms of the process, the steps in problem-solving, according to Polya, includes the following:
Understanding -> planning -> carrying out the plan -> look back (review)

According to Ban Har Yeap, mathematical investigation includes:

Exploration -> conjecturing -> verification -> look forward (generalization)

In the end, B.H. Yeap said problem solving involves mathematical investigation and mathematical
investigation involves problem-solving, only that problem-solving looks back whereas mathematical
investigation looks forward.

Example.

1. Investigate the relationships of the 4 triangles in the figure below.

1
2. Investigate the powers of 9.
1 9
2 81
3 729
4 6561
5 59049
6 531441
7 4782969
8 43046721
9 387420489
10 3486784401
11 31381059609
12 282429536481
13 2541865828329
14 22876792454961
15 205891132094649

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II. Benefits and Importance of Mathematical Investigations
1. Math Investigation can lead one to develop and formulate new mathematics
a. In 300 B.C. a certain Mr. Euclid said that if two lines are perpendicular to the same line,
they will never intersect.

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But Cardano, Sacherri, Riemann, and many others said that this is not true in general.

This observation gave rise to what is now known as Spherical Trigonometry which used as
model by navigators in going around the world since the world is more or less spherical

2. In the 9th century A.D. Mr. Al Khwarizmi, implied in his book Al Jabr, that the following equation
x2 + 1 = 0 can never be solved. (By the way, al- khwarizmi is now pronounced as “algorithm” and
Al-Jabr is now pronounced as “algebra”)

ii. In the 9th century A.D. Mr. Al Khwarizmi, implied

in his book Al Jabr, that the following equation
x2 + 1 = 0 can never be solved
(By the way, al- khwarizmi is now pronounced as “algorithm” and Al-
Jabr is now pronounced as “algebra”)

4
 But Tartaglia, Bombelli investigated the problem,
their solution gave rise to what is now known as
the System of Complex Numbers.

3. Mathematical investigations help students integrate different areas of mathematics.

4. Mathematical investigations foster an atmosphere in which communication and debate are
encouraged;
5. Mathematical investigations encourage mathematical inquiry which allow students to set its
own ceiling in terms of how far they would go to solve a problem;
6. Mathematical investigation gives students the opportunity to use their imagination and to get
into the habit of doing critical thinking.

III. Outfitting a mathematical investigation

In outfitting a mathematical investigation, you need the following:
1. Suitable classroom (air-conditioned if possible)
2. Gadgets: video-camera, camera, documentation notebook, calculators, basic books (algebra,
trigonometry, calculus, number theory, geometry), statistical softwares, graphics software,
measuring devices, internet connection, etc.
3. Interested and mathematically strong students
4. Scaffolders (teachers who know how to assist)
5. Collection of mathematical investigation problems

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 IV. Scaffolding

Purpose:
1. To support student’s high-level mathematical engagement
2. A process that enables a child to solve a problem, carry out a task and achieve a goal which
would be beyond his/her unassisted efforts;
3. It provides the opportunity for students to develop their independence, sense-making, and self-
confidence while they are working mathematically;

Essentially – scaffolding is helping students help themselves

a. In scaffolding, the teachers need to press students provide meaningful explanations of problem-
solving strategies by asking them to explain their actions.

Example: “Hi! Could you explain how you solved this problem step-by-step?”

b. Teachers need support students’ understanding of the problem working from students’ ideas
rather than the teacher’s ideas through questioning.

Example: “Hi! What are you trying to find out? Where did you start? What is confusing for you?”

c. It is more than just psychological encouragement.

- Never say, “What an interesting idea!”

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 *This comment will limit the level of mathematical thinking and communication
required)

Some Hints:
i. The teacher may rephrase or elaborate the problem
ii. The teacher may re-contextualize the problem so that it is familiar to the
students

6. Documentations
a. Written Report Sample
i. Title: “ A Mathematical Investigation on the Powers of 9”
ii. Software used in the computations: Microsoft Excel
iii. Procedure: 1. Powers of 9 were generated using Microsoft Excel
2. Then the results were examined and analyzed
iv. Conjectures formulated
v. Verification of Conjectures
1. Odd powers of 9 end in digit 9
Proof: Let n be odd. Then 9n is an odd power of 9. Now,
9n = (10 – 1)n

𝑛
= ∑𝑛𝑖=0 ( ) 10𝑛−𝑖 (−1)𝑖
𝑖
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
Hence, 9n = ( )(10n)(-1)0+ ( ) (10n-1)(-1)1+ ( ) (10n-2)(-1)2 +….
0 1 2
𝑛 𝑛
+( ) (10)1 (- 1)n-1+ ( ) (10)0 (- 1)n
𝑛−1 𝑛
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
= 10n - ( ) (10n-1) + ( ) (10n-2) +….+ ( ) (10)1 – 1
1 2 𝑛−1
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
Let z1 =( ), z2=( ), z3=( ), zn-1=( ),
1 2 3 𝑛−1

Then

9n = 10n – z1(10n-1) + z2(10n-2) +….+ zn-1 (10)1 – 1

= [10n + z2(10n-2)+ z4(10n-4)+…+ zn-2(102)]-

[z1(10n-1) + z3(10n-3) +….+ zn-3 (10)3 +1]

= dn 10n + dn-1(10n-1) + dn-2(10n-2) +….+ d1 (10)1 – 1

Where the di’s are single digit integers.

So,

dn00000…00000
+ dn-100…00000
.. ….
7
 + d10
+ -1
___________________
fn fn-1 … fn-2 f1 9

fn 10n + fn-1(10n-1) + fn-2(10n-2) +….+ f1 (10)1 + 9 (QED)

2. Even powers of 9 end in 1.

Proof: Let n be even. Then 9n is an even power of 9. Now,
9n = (10 – 1)n

𝑛
= ∑𝑛𝑖=0 ( ) 10𝑛−𝑖 (−1)𝑖
𝑖
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
Hence, 9n = ( )(10n)(-1)0+ ( ) (10n-1)(-1)1+ ( ) (10n-2)(-1)2 +….
0 1 2
𝑛 𝑛
+( ) (10)1 (- 1)n-1+ ( ) (10)0 (- 1)n
𝑛−1 𝑛
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
= 10n - ( ) (10n-1) + ( ) (10n-2) +….- ( )(10)1 + 1
1 2 𝑛−1
𝑛 𝑛 𝑛 𝑛
Let z1 =( ), z2=( ), z3=( ), zn-1=( ),
1 2 3 𝑛−1

Then

9n = 10n – z1(10n-1) + z2(10n-2) +….- zn-1 (10)1 + 1

= [10n + z2(10n-2)+ z4(10n-4)+…+ zn-2(102)+1 ]-

[z1(10n-1) + z3(10n-3) +….+ zn-3 (10)3 + zn-1 (10)1]

= dn 10n + dn-1(10n-1) + dn-2(10n-2) +….+ d1 (10)1 + 1

Where the di’s are single digit integers.

So,

dn00000…00000
+ dn-100…00000
.. ….
+ d10
+ 1
___________________
fn fn-1 … fn-2 f1 1

fn 10n + fn-1(10n-1) + fn-2(10n-2) +….+ f1 (10)1 + 1 (QED)

3. The sum of the digits in the powers of 9 is divisible by 9

Proof. Let n be a positive integer and 9n be the nth power of 9. Then as before, 9n can be written
as
dn 10n + dn-1(10n-1) + dn-2(10n-2) +….+ d1 (10)1 + 1 if n is even or
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 dn 10n + dn-1(10n-1) + dn-2(10n-2) +….+ d1 (10)1 - 1 if n is odd

Since for j > 0, 10j  1 mod 9, then

dn 10n + dn-1(10n-1) + dn-2(10n-2) +….+ d1 (10)1 + 1  dn + dn-1 + dn-2 +….+ d1 + 1 mod 9

Since
9n  0 mod 9 and
9n= dn 10n + dn-1(10n-1) + dn-2(10n-2) +….+ d1 (10)1 + 1
 dn + dn-1 + dn-2 +….+ d1 + 1 mod 9

It follows that
dn + dn-1 + dn-2 +….+ d1 + 1  0 mod 9

Hence, the sum of the digits of 9n is divisible by 9. (QED)

b. Mathematical Concepts Used:

i. Properties of integers
ii. Integer congruence
iii. Binomial theorem
iv. Number representations in powers of 10

c. Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

d. References
1. Rosen, K. (2011). Elementary Number Theory and its
Applications.USA: Pearson Education, Inc.

2. Adanza, E. (1983). College Algebra. Manila:Rex Publishing Co.

e. Some rubrics
i. Student discovered or conjectured more complicated patterns 4
ii. Student discovered or conjectured non-trivial patterns 3
iii. Student discovered or conjectured trivial patterns 2
iv. Student did some investigation but did not discover anything 1
v. Student did not do anything 0
Example:
1. Student discovered or conjectured trivial patterns (2)
a) Powers of 9 are divisible by 9 or are multiples of 9 [very trivial indeed!]
b) When a power of 9 is divided by 9, the result is the preceding power of 9 [wow!]
c) When the index of a power of 9 is increased by 1, the new number is the same as
multiplying the original power of 9 by 9

2. Student discovered or conjectured non-trivial patterns(3)

a. Powers of 9 are odd
b. The last digit of the powers of 9 repeats itself after 2 times
c. The last digit of the powers of other single-digit numbers also repeats itself but after
different number of times;
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 d. The sum of all the digits of 9 is divisible by 9
e. Powers of 9 are divisible by factors of 9
f. Odd powers of 9 contain at least one digit 9 and even powers of 9 contain no digit 9
g. 9n has n digits

3. Student discovered or conjectured more complicated patterns (4)

a. The last 2 digits of the powers of 9 repeat themselves after 10 times
b. The last 2 digit of the powers of other single-digit numbers also repeats itself but after
different number of times’
c. When multiplying two powers of 9, the indices are added together to give the index of
the resulting power of 9 (law of exponent)

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 V. Examples of MI’s
1. Reversing four-digit numbers
a. Choose any four-digit number, reverse its digits, add the two numbers, and try dividing by 11. For

example,
7582 + 2857 = 10,439
which is divisible by 11 (that is, there is a remainder of zero when it is divided by 11). Try this
process for some other four-digit numbers. Note: Zero is divisible by 11. Based on your
investigation, write T for true or F for false under the number 4 in the table below.

b. Try this process for several two-digit numbers and several three-digit numbers and write T or F above

the numbers 2 and 3 in the table.

c. Make a conjecture based on your results for two-digit, three-digit, and four-digit numbers. Then check

several five, six, seven, and eight-digit numbers to see if your conjecture holds.

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 2. Properties of Triangles

Each vertex of triangle ABC is connected to the midpoint of the opposite side of the triangle. These
line segments are called medians and they intersect in a point called the centroid. The medians of a
triangle subdivide a triangle into 6 smaller triangles. For any triangle, what can be said about the 6
small triangles that are obtained from the medians?

a. Will any of these triangles be congruent?

b. Will any of their perimeters be equal?
c. Will any of their areas be equal?
d. Can the shape of the triangle be changed so that any of statements a-c will be true?

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 3. Properties of Triangles

Consider the 6 small triangles which are formed by the medians of a triangle, as shown in the
following figure. Suppose the centroids of each of these small triangles are used as the vertices of a
hexagon. As ∆ ABC takes on various shapes, what can be said about this hexagon?

a. Will any pairs of its sides be congruent?

b. Will any of its vertex angles be congruent?
c. Will it have any lines of symmetry?
d. Will it ever be a regular hexagon?

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 4. Properties of Triangles

The following pentagon has had its sides extended to intersect in the points A, B, C, D, and E to form a 5-
pointed star.

a. What is the sum of the measures of the 5 angles whose vertices are A, B, C, D, E? Experiment with
other convex pentagons. Is this sum the same for any convex pentagon that is used to form a 5-
pointed star?
b. Form a 6-pointed star by extending the sides of a hexagon. What is the sum of the 6 angles at the 6
points of the star?
c. Continue this investigation for 7-pointed stars, 8-pointed stars, etc., and find a relationship in the
sums of the measures of the angles at the points of the stars. State a conjecture regarding these
sums.

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 5. Area relationships

A kite (see figure) is a quadrilateral with two non overlapping pairs of adjacent sides that are congruent.

a. There is an interesting relationship between the area of a kite and the product of its two diagonals.
Experiment with some different kites and form a conjecture about this relationship.
b. Does your conjecture hold for other quadrilaterals such as squares, rectangles, parallelograms, and
trapezoids?

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 6. Area relationships

A square has been constructed on each side of triangle T (see figure below). The shaded triangles have been
formed by connecting the outer vertices of the squares.

a. How are the areas of the 4 triangles related? Experiment with a few figures and form a conjecture.
b. Test your conjecture by replacing triangle T by a right triangle or an obtuse triangle. Does your conjecture
still to hold?

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 7. Paper Folding
A student had a standard 8 1/2-inch by 11-inch piece of paper but no ruler. She found that by folding
the paper twice she could obtain a length of 6 inches. The first fold which is shown below, produces a
2 1/2-inch length. She then used this length and the 8 1/2-inch length to produce a 6-inch length. She
continued to experiment with the sheet of paper and found that she could obtain many other lengths.

a. How can a length of 6 inches be obtain from two folds?

b. How can a length of 3 inches be obtained?
c. How can the 3-inch length be used to obtain an 8-inch length?
d. Once you have an 8-inch length, what other lengths can be obtained?
e. A 7-inch length can be obtained by folds that produce two mixed-number lengths. How can this be
done?
f. How many of the remaining whole number lengths less than 11 can be found by paper-folding?
Explain your methods.

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 8. Digit Draw

Place 10 cards marked with the digits 0 through 9 in a container and select one at a time without
replacement. As each card is selected, write its digit in one of the boxes shown below. As soon as each digit
is selected it must be written in a box, and no changes can be made. This activity can have several goals. One
might be to form the largest possible product; another might be to from the smallest product. The activity
can be carried out as a game among several people, with each player using each digit as it is selected; or as a
solitaire, with one person trying to satisfy a certain goal.

Starting Points for Investigations

a. What is the largest product that can be formed?
b. What is the product closest to one?
c. Once four digits have been written in the boxes, will the product be changed if the digits in boxes b and d
are interchanged?
d. A similar activity might involve sums, differences, or quotients, and the decimals might be hundredths of
thousandths. For example, what is the difference closest to zero that can be formed by placing digits in the
following boxes?

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 9. Pyramid Patterns
If the pattern in the figure below is traced and cut out, the triangular flaps can be folded up to form a
pyramid whose apex is directly above point P. (That is, a line containing the apex and point P will be
perpendicular to the base.) To construct these flaps, we must know the altitude h of the pyramid.

Starting Points for Investigations

a. For a given altitude, how were the vertex points R, S, T, and U determined? (Hint: The Pythagorean
theorem is needed.)
b. Explain how triangular flaps can be constructed for any polygon and any point P in the same plane
[see figures (a) and (b) below] so that the flaps fold up to form a pyramid of any given altitude with the
apex directly above point P.

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 10. The Number 6174
There is something very special about the number 6174. Select any four-digit number whose digits are
not equal, and arrange the digits to form the largest possible number, that is, put the digits in
decreasing order from left to right. Then form the reverse of this number and subtract it from the
larger number. Continue this process by forming the largest possible number from the difference and
subtracting the reverse. The example in the following table shows the process ending with 6147 after
five steps.
Step Maximun Number Reverse Difference
1 8421 1248 7173
2 7731 1377 6354
3 6543 3456 3087
4 8730 0378 8352
5 8532 2358 6174
Starting Points for Investigations
a. If you begin with any four-diit number whose digits are not all equal, will the above process always
product 6174?
b. What happens when this process is applied to three-digit numbers whose digits are not all equal? Is
there a special number in this case?
c. What happens when the process is applied to five-digit numbers? Is there a special number in this
case?
d. You may wish to continue this investigation for numbers with more digits.

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 11. Measuring Angles and Areas

An inner triangle has been formed in the following figure whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides of
the larger triangle.

a. What relationships are there between the inner triangle and the larger triangle?
b. If the midpoints of the sides of an arbitrary quadrilateral are the vertices of an inner quadrilateral, what
relationships are there between the smaller and larger quadrilateral?
c. Continue this investigation by forming inner polygons whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides of
pentagons, hexagons, and in general, polygons with increasing numbers of sides. Describe any relationships
you find.

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 12. Measuring Angles and Areas

The square below is subdivided into three regions by segments and .

a. If points X and Y are located so that ∆ ABX, quadrilateral BYXD, and ∆ ABX have the same area, what is the
measure of XBY?
b. Investigate the question in part a for regular polygons with a greater number of sides. Form a conjecture
about the measures of XBY for these polygons.
c. Investigate the question in part a for a circle. That is, what is the measure of XBY, if the areas of the
three regions formed by segments and are equal? How does the measure of this angle compare to
the measures of the angles in part b?

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 13. Areas and Volumes

The area of a square whose sides are the same as the diameter of a circle is obviously larger than the area of
the circle (see figure). Experiment by shrinking the square until both figures have the same area. What
percentage of the diameter of the circle can be used as the length of the side of a square so that the area of
the square is approximately equal to the area of the circle?

2. Extend the method in #1 by using a similar approach to approximate the volume of a sphere by the
volume of a cube. Suppose the cube shown below was shrunk until the volume of the cube was
approximately equal to the volume of the sphere. What percentage of the diameter of the sphere can be
used as the length of the side of the cube so that the volume of the cube is approximately equal to the
volume of the sphere?

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 14. Fraction Patterns

This tower of bars represents fractions with denominators 2 through 12. Each geometric pattern
corresponds to a pattern of fractions. The edge of a piece of paper or straight edge can be used to line
up equalities and inequalities.

Starting Points for Investigations

a. Investigate the tower for patterns, there are many. For each geometric pattern, write the
corresponding number pattern.
b. One student noticed that the difference between the 1/2 bar and the 1/3 bar is one-half of 1/3 (see
dark line). That is, 1/2 - 1/3 = 1/2 x 1/3. Does 1/3 - 1/4 = 1/3 x 1/4 ? Does 1/4 - 1/5 = 1/4 x 1/5 ?
c. If the line at the end of the 1/2 bar (top of tower) is continued down, it divides one of the thirds in
half. This shows that 1/2 = 1/3 + 1/2 x 1/3. Do the bars show that 2/4 = 2/5 + 1/2 x 1/5 ? or that 3/6 =
3/7 + 1/2 x 1/7 ?
d. What other patterns can you find?

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 15. Pythagorean Theorem

The Pythagorean theorem can be illustrated visually in several ways. One such illustration is shown by
the following figure. Square A is divided into four regions by two dashed lines that pass through its
center. One dashed line is parallel to the left edge of square C, and the other dashed line is parallel to
the lower edge of square C. If these four regions and square B are traced and cut out, they can be
arranged to cover square C. Try it!

Starting Points for Investigations

a. Draw a right triangle with legs of length 1 inch and 2 inches and a square on each of its sides. (Right
angles can be drawn by using the corner of a file card.) Subdivide the larger of the squares on the legs
into four regions as described in the figure above. Show how these four regions and the square on the
other leg can be arranged to exactly cover the square on the hypotenuse.
b. Suppose the smaller of the squares on the legs of a right triangle is subdivided into four regions as
described above. Can these regions and the square on the other leg be arranged to cover the square
on the hypotenuse?

25
 16. Inscribed Angles in Circles

Draw a circle and select any 2 points A and B on its circumference which are not the endpoints of a
diameter (see figure). Then select a different point V on the circumference and draw AVB. This is
called an inscribed angle because the vertex of the angle is on the circle and and are chords of
the circle. What can be said about the measure of such angles as point V moves to different locations
on the circumference and points A and B remain fixed?

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 17. Inscribed Angles in Circles

A central angle of a circle has its vertex at the center of the circle, as shown in the following figure.

a. Draw a circle and select any 2 points A and B on the circumference. Label the center of the circle as
O and draw central AOB. Select point V on the circumference and draw inscribed AVB. How does
the measure of inscribed AVB compare to the measure of central AOB? Repeat such
measurements for other inscribed angles and their corresponding central angles. Is there a
relationship? Form a conjecture and test it on other angles.
b. Draw a circle and label the endpoints of a diameter as A and B. Select a point V on the
circumference which is different from points A and B and measure AVB. Form a conjecture about
AVB as point V moves about the circumference.

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 18. Inscribed Angles in Circles

Draw a circle and select any 4 point on the circumference as the vertices of a quadrilateral. Measure
the pairs of opposite angles of the quadrilateral and look for relationships. Move the vertices on the
circle to see if your relationships hold. Will such relationships hold for an arbitrary quadrilateral whose
vertices are not on the circumference of a circle?

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 VI. References

1. Difference between Problem-solving and Mathematical Investigations

“Mathematical Investigation: Task, Process, and Activity”
Technical Repoprt ME 2009-01, January 2009, Mathematics and Mathematical
Education, National Institute of Education in Singapore

By: Joseph Yeo

National Institute of Education, Singapore
Nanyang Technological University
[email protected]

Ban Har Yeap

National Institute of Education, Singapore
Nanyang Technological University
[email protected]>
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265203204_Mathematical_Investigation_Task_Process_and_Act
ivity

2. Importance of Mathematical Investigations

“Why are Mathematical Investigations Important”
By: Lorna Quinnell
Charles Darwin University
[email protected]
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ898702

3. Math Investigation Design.

“Implementing Mathematical Investigations with Young Children”
By: Carmel Diezmann
Queensland University of Technology
[email protected]

James J. Watter
Queensland University of Technology
[email protected]

Lyn D. English
Queensland University of Technology
<[email protected]>
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.518.6441&rep=r
ep1&type=pdf

29
4. Rubrics in MI. “Secondary School Students Investigating Mathematics”
By: Joseph Yeo
Nanyang Technological University
[email protected]
www.jdhgfhd.com
https://www.merga.net.au/documents/RP742008.pdf

5. Scaffolding. “Scaffolding Students’ Thinking in Mathematical Investigations”

By: Natatlie McCossker
Queensland University of Technology
[email protected]

Carmel Diezmann
Queensland University of Technology
[email protected]
www.jlskd;sa.com
https://scholar.google.com.ph/scholar?q=Scaffolding+Students%E2%80%99
+Thinking+in+Mathematical+Investigations%E2%80%9D&hl=en&as_sdt=0&
as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP5Mi-
1bzWAhXJTrwKHfZVD50QgQMIIjAA

6. Collection of Examples:
http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072532947/student_view0/math_investigation
s.html

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Thank you and Happy Investigating

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