Think about the so-called "story problems" you studied in algebra and other math classes. How many of them dealt with, say, two trains which, no matter how far they traveled, could never catch your ...

While educators and policymakers debate whether 8th graders can be readied to learn algebra, Sigrid B. Frawley sits in front of her kindergartners with a magic bag. She puts three tokens in the bag ...

Gut instinct for numbers works in animals, too. March 16, 2014— -- Find algebra difficult? Well, think about this: Scientists find that even 5-year-old kids can do it. Now do you feel better? If ...

A popular humorist and avowed mathphobe once declared that in real life, there’s no such thing as algebra. Kathie Wilson knows better. Most of the students in her 8th grade class will be thrust into ...

Learning how to solve algebraic equations need not be all work and no play. Two software titles, “The Hidden Treasure of Al-Jabr” and “Standard Deviants: Algebra,” bring an entertaining element to the ...

For most people, the word "algebra" conjures classroom memories of Xs and Ys. Weekend Edition's math guy, Keith Devlin, says that's because most schools do a terrible job of teaching it. He talks with ...

Attacking a slew of calculus problems the night before a quiz is never my idea of a good time, but on a recent Saturday night, one problem in particular drew my ire — then, the more I mulled over it, ...

Give a three-year old a smartphone and she’ll likely figure out how to turn it on and operate a few simple functions. But confront her with an algebra problem and ask her to solve for x? Not likely.