inequality
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Introduction to 2 Variable Inequalities
Previously, I shared how I use a Google Jamboard to introduce 1 variable linear equalities with a focus on conceptual understanding. I use the same approach for the 2 variable version (example problem below). A conceptual gap that typically arises is the students do not understand what the shading represents. This is what I am…
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Introduction to Inequalities
For students with special needs, the teacher speaking “math” to students sounds like the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons. This is apparently the case when students are learning about inequalities such as x < 4 because I have seen many high school and college students struggle with this topic. The challenge is that teachers are…
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Intro to Graphing Inequalities
For years over many settings from middle school to college I have witnessed students struggle to make sense out of inequalities like x < 4. Not only is the concept of an inequality of an inequality challenging, merely reading the symbol is problematic. This post shows an concept based approach to making sense of inequalities.…
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More Than: Concept and Symbol
The alligator eats the bigger number is the common approach for student to use inequality symbols (< > < > ). I find that students remember the sentence but many do not retain the concept or use the symbols correctly, even in high school. This post presents an alternative approach. Alligator Method The reason, I believe, is…
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Unpacking the Inequality Symbols
I have found that many students I have taught, including in college, struggle with the inequality symbols. Typically, they cannot remember which symbol is less than or greater than despite various efforts such as the “alligator eats the bigger number” method. I’ve found traction by using the dot method. It is like a light bulb…