Where Does the Formula Come from? Students Investigating Total Surface Areas of a Pyramid and Cone Using Models and Technology

Autor/in	Obara, Samuel
Titel	Where Does the Formula Come from? Students Investigating Total Surface Areas of a Pyramid and Cone Using Models and Technology
Quelle	In: Australian Mathematics Teacher, 65 (2009) 1, S.25-33 (9 Seiten) PDF als Volltext (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0045-0685
Schlagwörter	Mathematical Concepts; Secondary School Teachers; Geometric Concepts; Geometry; Mathematics Instruction; Algebra; Thinking Skills; Spatial Ability; Mathematical Formulas; Preservice Teachers; Secondary School Mathematics + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Elementare Geometrie; Geometrie; Mathematics lessons; Mathematikunterricht; Denkfähigkeit; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Mathematische Formel
Abstract	Spatial reasoning is a skill that needs to be developed in students as it is important in geometry for determining total surface areas and volumes of 3-dimensional shapes (Liedtke, 1995). Simply teaching children the formulae, in this case for finding total surface areas, can limit them in understanding mathematics conceptually (Bonotto, 2003). Helping students establish a relationship between the total surface area of a three-dimensional solid and the area of a two-dimensional net should help them in understanding total surface area conceptually. In this article, the author discusses the challenges pre-service secondary school teachers faced in trying to understand how to work out the surface areas of square and rectangular pyramids and a cone. The pitfalls of just giving students a formula to work with without involving them in learning where the formulas come from are presented. (Contains 11 figures and 2 footnotes.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT). GPO Box 1729, Adelaide 5001, South Australia. Tel: +61-8-8363-0288; Fax: +61-8-8362-9288; e-mail: office@aamt.edu.au; Web site: http://www.aamt.edu.au
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10