Omvärldsbevakning

Although the question of whether there is a gender difference in math seems like a simple one, the answer is complicated. Overall there are only small differences in boys’ and girls’ math performance; those differences depend on the age and skill level of the student, what type of math they are attempting and how big

Findings from an evaluation of a $575 million program to improve teacher performance found that, while sites implemented new measures of teaching effectiveness and modified personnel policies accordingly, the program had no impact on student outcomes. Läs mer [Best Evidence in Brief]

– Jag vill bryta stigmatiseringen kring matematik att det bara är vissa smarta elever som kan bli bra på matematik. Det är fel. Alla kan lära sig. Det säger Sabine Louvet som har skrivit boken Stärk det matematiska självförtroendet där hon delar med sig av sitt arbetssätt och lekfulla digitala arbetsmetoder för att stärka elevernas

Contrary to widely-held opinion, taking high school calculus isn’t necessary for success later in college calculus — what’s more important is mastering the prerequisites, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry — that lead to calculus. That’s according to a study of more than 6,000 college freshmen at 133 colleges. Läs mer [ScienceDaily]

A multinational team of scientists have uncovered a previously undescribed shape — they call the ’scutoid’ — adopted by epithelial cells during embryonic development that enables the cells to minimize energy use and maximize packing stability. Läs mer [ScienceDaily]

Konferensen kommer att belysa programmering, symbolhantering och digitala verktyg. Tid kommer också att ges för erfarenhetsutbyte och att testa både programmering och digitala verktyg. Den äger rum den 13-14 september, 2018 i Stockholm. Läs vidare [ViS]

Caucher Birkar grew up on a farm near the Kurdish city of Marivan in Iran and spoke little English when he began his PhD. [He] came to Britain as a refugee after fleeing conflict two decades ago is one of four men who have been awarded the Fields medal, considered the equivalent of a Nobel

More than a quarter of children starting primary school are unable to communicate in full sentences as concerns grow about the amount of time they are spending in front of screens, the education secretary [UK] will say in his first major speech on social mobility. Läs mer [The Guardian]

A growing movement argues that killing pi would make mathematics simpler, easier and even more beautiful. At its heart, pi refers to a semicircle, whereas tau refers to the circle in its entirety. Mathematician and poet Mike Keith once wrote a 10,000 word poem dedicated to the first 10,000 digits of pi. He is now

Researchers are using stigmergy, a biological phenomenon that has been used to explain everything from the behavior of termites and beavers to the popularity of Wikipedia, to build new problem-solving autonomous robots. While the project involves animals and robots, its main focus is math: specifically, developing new algorithms — the sets of rules that self-governing