Journal of

Mathematics Education
at Teachers College
Fall – Winter 2011

A CENTURY OF LEADERSHIP IN
MATHEMATICS AND ITS TEACHING
 © Copyright 2011
by the Program in Mathematics and Education
Teachers College Columbia University
in the City of New York
 The Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College is a publication of the
Program in Mathematics and Education at Teachers College
Columbia University in the City of New York.

Guest Editor Aims and Scope

Ms. Diane R. Murray The JMETC is a re-creation of an earlier publication by the Teachers College
Columbia University Program in Math ematics. As a peer-rev iewed, semi-
annual journal, it is intended to provide dissemination opportunities for writers
Editorial Board of practice-based or research contributions to the general field of mathematics
Dr. Philip Smith education. Each issue of the JMETC will focus upon an educational theme. The
themes planned for the 2012 Spr ing-Summer and 2012 Fall-Winter issues are:
Dr. Bruce Vogeli
Evaluation and Equity, respectively.
Dr. Erica Walker
JMETC readers are educators from pre K-12 through college and university
levels, and fro m many different disciplines and job positio ns—teachers,
Corresponding Editor principals, superintendents, professors of educ ation, and other leaders in
Ms. Krystle Hecker education. Articles to app ear in the JMETC include r esearch reports,
commentaries on practice, historical an alyses and responses to issues and
recommendations of professional interest.
On-Line Editor
Ms. Diane R. Murray
Manuscript Submission
JMETC seeks conversational manuscripts (2,500-3,000 words in length ) that
Layout are insightful and helpful to mathemat ics educators. Artic les should contain
fresh information, possibly research-based, that gives practical guidance
Ms. Sonja Hubbert readers can use to improve practice. Examples from classroom experience are
encouraged. Articles must not h ave been a ccepted for publicat ion elsewhere.
To keep the submission and review pro cess as efficient as possible, all
Photo Editor and Cover Design manuscripts may be submitted electronically at www.tc.edu/jmetc.
Mr. Mark Causapin
Abstract and keywords. All manuscripts must include a n abstract with
Dr. Robert Taylor was selected b y the Teachers keywords. Abstracts d escribing the essence of the manuscr ipt should not
College sponsored Teache rs for East Africa exceed 150 words. Authors sho uld select key words from the menu on the
program to teach mathematics of Uganda’s manuscript submission system so that readers can search for the article after it
Makerere University. He re turned to TC as an is published. All inquiries and materials should be sub mitted to Ms. Krystle
instructor in the Department of Mathematics, Hecker at P.O. Box 210, Teachers College Colu mbia University, 525 W. 120th
Statistics, and Computing in Education where he St., New York, NY 10027 or at [email protected]
developed an innovative programming language
(FPL) intended to introduce educators to the then -
new field of computer programming. His seminal Copyrights and Permissions
work entitled Computers: Tutor, Tool, Tutee led to Those who wis h to r euse material cop yrighted by the JMETC must se cure
leadership in t he new fie ld of computers in written permission from the editors to reproduce a journal article in full or in
education. Dr. Taylor completed 33 years as a texts of more than 500 words. The JMETC normally will grant permission
member of the Teachers College faculty in 2009. contingent on permission of the author and in clusion of the JMETC copyright
notice on the first page of reproduced material. Access services may use unedited
Dr. Carl N. Shuster com pleted the doctor ate at abstracts without the permission of the JMETC or the author. Ad dress requests
Teachers College in 1940 under the guidan ce of for reprint permissions to: Ms. Krystle Hecker, P.O. Box 210, Teachers College
William David Reeve. Shuster j oined the TC faculty Columbia University, 525 W. 120th St., New York, NY 10027.
at Reeve’s invitation and soon was recognized as the
nation’s leading advocate of the use of tradition al
technology, especially measurement technology, in Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
the mathematics classroom. Dr. Shuster served as Journal of mathematics education at Teachers College
President of the National Coun cil of Mathem atics p. cm.
from 1946 to 1 948 and concluded his career as Includes bibliographical references.
Distinguished Professor of Math ematics at Trenton ISSN 2156-1397
State University. EISSN 2156-1400
1. Mathematics—Study and teaching—United States—Periodicals
QA11.A1 J963

More Information is available online: www.tc.edu/jmetc

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword
v Honoring the Past—Anticipating the Future
J. Philip Smith, Bruce R. Vogeli, Erica Walker

Preface
vi From Slide Rules to Video Games: Technology in
Mathematics Classrooms
Diane R. Murray

Articles
1 Mathematical Visualization
Jonathan Rogness, University of Minnesota

8 Randomized Control Trials on the Dynamic

Geometry Approach
Zhonghong Jiang, Alexander White, Alana Rosenwasser
Texas State University – San Marcos

18 The Frame Game

Michael Todd Edwards, Dana C. Cox
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio

28 Preserving Precious Instruments in Mathematics History:

The Educational Museum of Teachers College and David
Eugene Smith’s Collection
Diane R. Murray, Teachers College Columbia University

33 Tech@MoMath: Technology Use in the Forthcoming

Museum of Mathematics
Heather Gould, Teachers College Columbia University
Catherine Reimer, The School at Columbia

37 The Mathematics of Global Change

Kurt Kreith, University of California at Davis

45 Toward an Analysis of Video Games for

Mathematics Education
Kathleen Offenholley, Borough of Manhattan Community
College

49 Current Challenges in Integrating Educational Technology

into Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Education
Sandra Y. Okita, Azadeh Jamalian
Teachers College Columbia University

Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College

Technology Issue Fall–Winter 2011, Volume 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS, continued

59 Math Is Not a Spectator Sport: The Effect of Online

Homework-Completion Tutoring On Community College
Remedial Mathematics Performance
Alice W. Cunningham, Olen Dias, Nieves Angulo
Hostos Community College, City University of New York

66 Integrating External Software into SMART Board™

Calculus Lessons
Allen Wolmer, Yeshiva Atlanta High School
Leonid Khazanov, Borough of Manhattan Community College

73 Something Drawn, Something Touched, Something Scrolled:

An Exploratory Comparison of Perimeter and Area
Interventions Including Kidspiration
Dino Sossi, Azadeh Jamalian, Shenetta Richardson
Teachers College Columbia University

78 NOTES FROM THE COMPUTER LABORATORY

Insights of Digital Mathematics Textbooks
Hoyun Cho, Mercy College

Basic Triangle Properties Through Geometer’s Sketchpad

Nasriah Morrison, Teachers College, MA Candidate

Discovering Blackbeard’s Treasure by SMART Board™

Emily Ying Liao, Uncommon Charter High School

Programming Probability
Paul Morrill, New Design Middle School

GeoGebra in the Geometry Classroom

Christina Constantinou, High School East, Half Hollows Hills
Central School District

Other

84 ABOUT THE AUTHORS

88 Acknowledgement of Reviewers

Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College

iv Technology Issue Fall–Winter 2011, Volume 2
Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College Copyright 2011 by the Program in Mathematics and Education
Fall–Winter 2011, Volume 2 Teachers College Columbia University

Mathematical Visualization
Jonathan Rogness
University of Minnesota

Advances in computer graphics have provided mathematicians with the ability to create stunning visualizations,
both to gain insight and to help demonstrate the beauty of mathematics to others. As educators these tools can
be particularly important as we search for ways to work with students raised with constant visual stimulation,
from video games to MTV. Computer generated images, animations and interactive demonstrations permeate
all areas of mathematics education, making it important for educators and researchers to determine how best to
harness these tools to increase student learning. This survey article discusses what we know, and do not know,
about creating effective visualizations and describes possible avenues for future work in the area.

Note: Based on a colloquium presentation at Teachers College in April 2011.

Keywords: Visualization, Möbius Transformations, Animations, YouTube.

Introduction are somewhat unusual in that they are based on higher

level material. This choice was made for two reasons: (a)
Although well-drawn diagrams have long been a part to remind readers that even advanced “theorem and proof”
of mathematical education, the advent of computer based mathematics courses can benefit from visualizations,
graphics in the last thirty years has enabled an explosion of and (b) to point out that a truly exceptional visualization
mathematical visualizations for use in research and can take a high level concept and make it understandable
teaching. Computer based images and interactive to a less advanced student, or even the general public.
visualizations are now widely used in both K-12 and The examples in this section are freely available
postsecondary courses; an online search for the phrase online, and readers are highly encouraged to download
“interactive calculus applet” currently returns nearly nine them. The static images in the figures below do not do
million web pages. This trend seems likely to continue as them justice.
modern systems make it even easier for educators to create Example 1: Geodesics. A geodesic on a surface is a
compelling visualizations for students. generalization of a straight line on a plane. On a small
However, quantity does not ensure quality, and there enough scale, a geodesic will always indicated the shortest
are many open questions about which visualizations are path between two points on the surface. A careful
most effective in increasing student learning, and about mathematical definition of geodesic involves fairly
how they should be used in the classroom. This article sophisticated notions from metric space theory or
serves as a short survey of these issues and as a primer for multivariable calculus, but informally one can think of a
those who wish to use or even create visualizations. The geodesic as the path a small ant would trace out on the
first section describes three particularly effective surface while always crawling straight ahead, never
visualizations to provide context for the rest of the article. turning left or right.
The second section discusses what makes for an effective This characterization of geodesic paths is illustrated
visualization. The third section describes why visualization wonderfully in the opening scene of (Polthier, Schmies,
is important for mathematics education, followed by a Steffens & Teitzel, 1997), which may be freely
fourth section discussing open questions and possible downloaded at http://page.mi.fu-berlin.de/polthier/video/
research in the field. Finally, a short appendix lists some of Geodesics/Scenes.html. The one-minute video shows a
the current tools available to create your own motorcycle following a wild path around a three-
visualizations. dimensional figure-eight surface, looping around the
surface and through its holes. A few well-chosen camera
angles make it clear that the handlebars on the motorcycle
Examples never turn to the left or right. See Figure 1. In other words,
the motorcycle is driving straight ahead, and the seemingly
There are far more students and instructors in calculus random path on the surface is in fact a geodesic. This
courses (and below) than in junior- or senior-level powerful visualization makes a complicated idea from
undergraduate mathematics courses, so it would stand to differential geometry accessible to students in middle or
reason that the vast majority of visualizations are created even elementary schools. They may not be able to write
for those lower level courses. The examples in this section

1
 ROGNESS

The two-dimensional space \2 is a flat plane which

stretches out forever in every direction. There are other
spaces which have a finite area and yet allow a two-
dimensional object to move forever in any given direction.
For example, in the video game Asteroids, if the player’s
spaceship reaches the top of the screen it reappears on the
bottom; similarly, if it flies off the side of the screen, it
reappears on the opposite side. The ship can fly forever
without ever changing direction, and yet its “universe” is
limited to the area of the computer screen.
Mathematically we say the opposite edges of the
screen are glued to each other. If the screen were made of a
bendable material, we could physically glue these edges
together, revealing that Asteroids is in fact played on a
torus which has been cut open and laid out flat so that we
can display it on a computer screen. See Figure 2, which
shows a series of frames from a video available at
Figure 1. http://www.math.umn.edu/~rogness/visualization.shtml.
After the torus is cut open and laid flat, portions of the
spaceship appear in all four corners of the resulting
down a rigorous definition involving derivatives of rectangle.
parametric paths in space, but students who watch the Moving back up a dimension, the possible shapes of
video can gain an accurate understanding of what a our universe are mathematical objects known as 3-
geodesic is. manifolds, which are typically not defined in the American
Example 2: Curved Spaces. We live in a three- curriculum until advanced undergraduate or beginning
dimensional universe—or, at least, are limited by human graduate level courses in topology. The Euclidean space
vision to seeing a three-dimensional universe. Many \3 is just one of the possibilities; in others, it could be
people assume that the universe is shaped like \3, i.e. a possible to fly in a spaceship and, as in Asteroids,
three-dimensional space which stretches forever in every eventually return to one’s starting point without having
direction. Surprisingly, this might not be the case. To changed direction.
understand why, it can help to drop down a dimension and We can construct a space by generalizing the two-
think about video games. dimensional example above. Instead of a rectangular
computer screen, imagine a cubical room. The room has

Figure 2.

2
 MATHEMATICAL VISUALIZATION

the peculiar property that, if you

walk through any wall, you
reappear on the opposite side of the
room. Similarly, if you move
through the floor, you find yourself
coming through the ceiling at the
top of the room. This special room
is known as the 3-torus.
Mathematically we again say the
opposite sides of the 3-torus are
glued to each other, but the
limitations of our human senses
make it impossible to create an
illustration analogous to Figure 2.
One cannot draw an accurate three-
dimensional picture in which all
three pairs of opposite sides of the Figure 3(a) and 3(b).
cube are stretched around and would look like to stand inside a 3-torus which contained a
joined together. Hence to visualize the space, we are large Earth in the middle. Notice how the multiple Earths
limited to imagining what it would look like from the seem to appear in every direction; the 3-torus appears to be
inside. infinitely large, but it is in fact finite—the size of one cube,
If you stand in the middle of the 3-torus and look whose opposite sides are glued together in a special way.
straight ahead, your line of sight will pass through the front Curved Spaces includes a variety of 3-manifolds for users
wall and come out of the back. The result is that you will to explore interactively, many of which are created with
see yourself from behind, in what appears to be a second non-cubical rooms. Figure 3(b), for example, shows
copy of the room. (However, it is in fact the same room!) Poincaré Dodecahedral Space, in which a spaceship flying
Similarly, if you look to the right, left, down, up, or at any through a pentagonal face of a dodecahedron reappears on
other angle, you will see yourself in the room, but from the opposite side of the polyhedron.
different angles. It will appear as though you are Curved Spaces is a fantastic piece of software, and
surrounded by cubes stretching off forever in every perhaps the single most effective mathematical
direction, despite the fact that your entire “universe” visualization tool this author has encountered. It makes
consists of the one cubical room with finite volume. complex, graduate-level mathematics accessible to school-
Understanding what the inside of a 3-manifold looks age children; at the University of Minnesota it is regularly
like is a difficult proposition indeed. Fortunately a used in enrichment programs for students as young as
mathematician named Jeffrey Weeks has created a fourth grade.
computer program called Curved Spaces which allows Readers who are interested in further exploration of 3-
users to fly through 3-manifolds to analyze their shape; the manifolds are highly encouraged to read (Weeks, 2001).
software is freely available to download for multiple Weeks is a masterful writer and received a MacArthur
platforms at http://www.geometrygames.org. (The website Fellowship in recognition of his work helping students
also has programs to help visualize the two-dimensional understand and visualize manifolds.
example described above.) Figure 3(a) shows what it

Figure 4(a) and 4(b).

3
 ROGNESS

Figure 5(a) and 5(b).

Example 3: Möbius Transformations Revealed. A featured video, eventually garnering nearly two millions
Möbius Transformation is a function of the form views.
f (z) = (az + b) /(cz + d) where a, b, c, d, and z are all With so much content online, it is rare for any video to
complex numbers, and ad − bc ≠ 0. They are well go viral, let alone a video illustrating high level
known in complex analysis as functions which are mathematics. News outlets such as Minnesota Public
conformal and which send circles and lines on the complex Radio and the Associated Press took notice and further
plane to circles and lines. See Figures 4(a) and 4(b) for the publicized the film. While the general public may not have
effect on one particular Möbius Transformation; the points known—or cared—about the theorem illustrated in the
in the colored grid in Figure 4(a) are sent to the video, they could enjoy the mesmerizing images and colors
corresponding points in Figure 4(b). Notice that the in the movie and get a glimpse of the world of
straight line segments were sent to arcs (i.e. segments) of mathematics beyond simple arithmetic and algebra. Hence
circles, and the arcs still meet at right angles. Surprisingly, Möbius Transformations Revealed became an ambassador
the colored grid has been turned inside out, so that the gray of sorts for mathematics as a whole.
region of the plane is now bounded, and the colored areas For more information about the mathematics behind
stretch out to infinity. Möbius Transformations Revealed, see (Arnold &
Möbius Transformations Revealed is a short film Rogness, 2008). The film is available for download at
created at the University of Minnesota by Douglas Arnold http://www.ima.umn.edu/~arnold/moebius/.
and this author for the 2007 International Science and
Engineering Visualization Challenge, in which it won What Makes a Visualization Good?
Honorable Mention. A primary goal of the film was to
show non-mathematicians how beautiful mathematics can In an ideal world this article would list twelve steps
be, but the video is more than random pretty pictures. It that every reader could follow to decide if a certain
illustrates a theorem which states Möbius Transformations visualization would be effective in the classroom.
can be constructed by copying the original points onto a Unfortunately the situation is not so clear. Indeed, it is not
sphere via inverse stereographic projection, moving and certain what makes a visualization good or bad, or even
rotating the sphere as necessary, and then projecting the what the definition of visualization should be. After
points on the sphere back to the plane. Figures 5(a) and surveying 247 articles related to visualization in science
5(b), for example, show how to represent the Möbius and mathematics education, (Phillips, Norris & Macnab,
Transformation used in Figure 4 using a sphere. 2010) states: “Perhaps the most defining feature of the
Anecdotal reports from students and instructors current state of empirical research on visualization is the
around the country suggest that, for large numbers of lack of consensus about the most elemental issues that
students, this representation of Möbius Transformations surround it, including settling on a definition for
has proven easier to understand than the algebraic visualization… and deciding how to document both short-
descriptions contained in typical complex analysis books. term and long-term effectiveness.”
This alone would make the video a highly successful After evaluating the literature, (Phillips, et al., 2010)
visualization. However, Möbius Transformations Revealed do identify five characteristics of effective visualizations.
has an interesting follow-up story. A low resolution Their descriptions are summarized here; for full references
version of the was uploaded to YouTube.com so that the for their conclusions, see the original source.
creators could easily share it with others. Much to their
surprise, it appeared on the YouTube home page as a

4
 MATHEMATICAL VISUALIZATION

1. Color. There is some evidence to suggest colorful reflect the fact that there are no definitive answers. In the
images may be more effective in triggering student end, to paraphrase Potter Stewart, “We know a good
learning than simple black and white images. visualization when we see it,” but it is difficult to be more
2. Realism- or lack thereof. Abstracts line diagrams precise.
that focus on the essential details of a concept may In the end, trying to write out specific guidelines for
be more effective than overly complicated images creating visualizations is as fruitless as describing how to
which include unnecessary detail. write the perfect novel. In both fields we can describe
3. Relevance. This can refer to cultural relevance, for aspects of successful creations, but there will always be an
example of geometric designs in art, or in the intangible quality that defies quantitative evaluation. It is
relevance of the images to the problem at hand—is interesting to note that in a (highly unscientific) survey
the visualization really necessary to help solve the conducted by this author of post-secondary mathematics
problem, or does it serve as a distraction? faculty who are heavily invested in creating and using
4. Interactivity. The ability to control and interact with visualizations—including some of the creators of the three
the visualization seems to be an effective way to examples above, and members of a Mathematical
stimulate student learning; this is similar to the use Association of America task force which was evaluating
of physical manipulatives in a classroom. online resources for multivariable calculus—none of them
5. Animation. Many mathematical concepts depend on had surveyed the educational literature to help guide their
a changing parameter which can be represented as decisions about color, interactivity, or the design of their
time. Animations can provide a more accurate images. In short, they are “winging it,” trusting their own
representation of such ideas than a static image. pedagogical, mathematical and artistic instincts to decide
Having identified these characteristics, one might what would be most effective in facilitating student
hope we have an algorithm for making an effective learning.
visualization: create a colorful image, relevant to the
problem at hand, which includes only the essential details, The Need for Visualization
and allow the image to vary with time as appropriate,
perhaps through the control of the student. Unfortunately,
these guidelines might be helpful, but they provide no After reading the previous section one might be
guarantee about the effectiveness of the resulting image. tempted to give up on the creation and evaluation of
The problem is that incorporating these five features visualizations for the mathematics classroom, but this
of effective characterizations is not a simple yes or no would not be a responsible approach to dealing with our
proposition. All of these characteristics live on a spectrum, students. The current generation of students has been
and there are choices to be made. For example, color can raised with constant visual stimuli, whether television,
certainly make an image more visually arresting, but too computer graphics, or other media, and have come to
many colors, or clashing color combinations, could be expect such presentations. It is important not to pander to
detrimental. Certain color combinations might be highly this view and replace the symbolic calculations and logical
effective for some students, but useless to those who are arguments of mathematics courses with entertaining but
color blind. All of these issues must be balanced, and the uninformative visual images. However, as educators we
right balance depends not only on the subject matter but on must find the best way to engage our students in the
the viewer—and no two viewers are exactly the same. material. If that includes flashy pictures, so be it, as long as
To further illustrate the difficulties in identifying, let we then begin the process of training students to back up
alone creating, good visualizations, the reader is their ideas with proper mathematical reasoning and
encouraged to think about the three examples described writing.
earlier. What makes them effective? How do they make It is also worth noting that visualization is not just
use of the five features of visualizations described in this useful for education, but has become an important tool in
section? Certainly all three use visually arresting, colorful mathematical research. The proof that the Costa surface is
images. They all describe complex ideas, but the pictures a complete minimal embedded surface of finite topology,
have been simplified to show only essential features. Two for example, was driven by the analysis of computer
of them are animated movies while the third, Curved generated images. One of the mathematicians involved in
Spaces, is a highly interactive visualization. the proof, David Hoffman, wrote an excellent article
Yet it is impossible to attribute the success of these (Hoffman, 1987) describing the process, and concluded:
visualizations to the specific color, layout, or interactive “The computer-created model is not restricted to the role
controls chosen in their design. Would the geodesic video of illustrating the end product of mathematical
be any less instructive if the figure eight surface were a understanding, as the plaster models are. They can be part
different color? If the colors in Möbius Transformations of the process of doing mathematics.” Similarly, Jeffrey
Revealed were arranged differently, would student learning Weeks, creator of Curved Spaces, wrote “It began with a
be diminished? While these questions may seem silly, they desire to show people the images that mathematicians

5
 ROGNESS

already had in their heads. But then... I found that the more effective we can be in the classroom. Many of the
interactive visualizations not only allowed me to most basic questions are too deep to answer in the near
communicate mental images I already had, but actually future; it will be many years, for example, before cognitive
gave me new mental images, in effect deeper psychologists fully understand the process of how the
understandings of things I had thought I had already viewing of a visual image or animation produces learning.
understood.” (Weeks, personal communication, 2011) However, there are many questions which could be
These mathematicians are just two of many whose addressed by current researchers. (Whiteley, 2004)
research has been heavily influenced by computer suggests a number of research questions, including:
graphics. Hence the use of visualizations in mathematics 1. Which visuals are used by experts when solving
classrooms does not just help students understand mathematical problems? How are they used?
concepts; their use provides important training for students 2. How do the visual practices of experts compare with
to do mathematics in the classroom and beyond. the visual representations and processes supported
Walter Whiteley, a mathematician at York University, by our teaching materials and pedagogies?
makes the further point that using visualization can help 3. How does a teacher recognize the mis-seeing and
develop visual reasoning skills, an area often overlooked in misinterpretation [of mathematical concepts] and
our curriculum. When students struggle with algebra skills, support change?
it is generally expected that they can improve with practice 4. If a person does not use visual reasoning, is some
and good teaching. Yet students who say they cannot think portion of that skill set lost? At what ages?
visually are often told not to worry; some people just are 5. What proportion of our students would engage
not “wired” to think that way. Whiteley has stated a mathematics more effectively and more
number of claims related to the importance of visualization enthusiastically through visual processes?
in both mathematics and mathematics education, including This author further suggests the following questions as
the following; for full details and citations related to his possible avenues of research.
claims, see (Whiteley, 2004): 1. When should a visualization be used in the
• Visuals are widely used, in diverse ways, by classroom? In some cases this may be a simple
practicing mathematicians. pedagogical choice, but with some concepts this
• Visual reasoning in solving problems is central to may be critically important. Showing students a
numerous other fields: engineering, computer visualization at the beginning of a lesson may help
science, chemistry, biology, applied statistics. engage students and motivate the rest of the lesson.
• We create what we see. Visual reasoning or “seeing In other cases it may intimidate and confuse
to think” is learned. It can also be taught and it is students, and they will tune out before learning the
important to teach it. theoretical concept behind the image.
• Children begin school with relevant visual abilities, 2. Many geology departments around the country have
including 3D. In North America, this declines used a so-called GeoWall system to display images
through school. in three dimensions, similar to the systems used to
• Visually based pedagogy opens mathematics to show three-dimensional Hollywood movies in
students who are otherwise excluded, such as those multiplex theaters. Would the use of this system in
with special needs or learning styles. multivariable calculus and other courses improve
As educators this leaves us in an uncomfortable student learning of concepts in three dimensions?
position. Visualization in the mathematics classroom is Answering one of these questions, or any of the others
important for a variety of reasons: initial engagement of which may have occurred to readers, would provide useful
students’ interest; improving student understanding of a information for educations. The creation of visualizations
concept, particularly for visual learners; development of will always remain an inexact science, but given their
visual reasoning skills; and as an important tool for importance in mathematics, we have a duty to learn as
mathematical exploration and research. At the same time, much about their use as possible.
we are unable to identify precisely what makes any
particular visualization effective or not. Where do we go Practical Advice for
from here? Creating and Using Visualizations.

Future Directions Some people have the patience and skills to write
computer programs from scratch to display the precise
Clearly there is no shortage of open questions for visual images they desire; Curved Spaces, for example, is
research related to visualization in mathematics education. written in C++ using OpenGL routines. Computer
While we may never find definitive answers, the more data programming is not for the uninitiated, however.
we have about how students learn from visual stimuli, the Fortunately there exist many higher level tools to create

6
 MATHEMATICAL VISUALIZATION

visualizations, as well as collections of pre-existing References

materials which are appropriate for classroom use.
A word of advice: do not attempt to reinvent the Arnold, D., & Rogness, J. (2008). Möbius Transformations
wheel. Many “standard” classroom demonstrations and Revealed. Notices of the AMS, 55, no. 10, 1226–1231.
visualizations have already been done, and done well. Hoffman, D. (1987). The computer-aided discovery of new
There is no need to write a program which will accept a embedded minimal surfaces. The Mathematical
function f (x) and graph its derivative f ' ( x) . There are a Intelligencer, 9, no. 3, 8–21.
multitude of programs and online applets which have this Phillips, Linda M., Norris, Stephen P., & Macnab, John S.
functionality, and your time would be better spent on other (2010). Visualization in Mathematics, Reading and
endeavors unless you have a very specific need which they Science Education: Vol. 5. Models and Modeling in
do not implement. Finding these programs can sometimes Science Education. Springer.
be difficult, however; an online search for calculus applets Polthier, K., Schmies, M., Steffens, M., & Teitzel, C.
returns millions of results, many of which are out of date (1997). Geodesics and Waves. Retrieved from
and of low quality. One useful resource is the Course http://page.mi.fu-berlin.de/polthier/video/Geodesics/
Communities section of the Math Digital Library, run by index.html.
the Mathematics Association of America (MAA). On this Weeks, J. (2001) The Shape of Space. New York, NY:
site faculty from around the country have evaluated Marcel Dekker, Inc.
visualizations and other online resources for use in the Whiteley, W. (2004). Visualization in Mathematics:
classroom: http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/61/. Claims and Questions towards a Research Program.
Retrieved from http://www.math.yorku.ca/Who/
Other useful tools include: Faculty/Whiteley/menu.html. (Direct link: http://
www.math.yorku.ca/Who/Faculty/Whiteley/Visualizat
GeoGebra. This dynamic geometry software allows ion.pdf)
you to create highly interactive demonstrations, and
automatically export them to web pages which use a java
applet. The GeoGebra website includes hundreds of
visualizations created by users around the world.
(Available at http://www.geogebra.org/.)
Mathematica, Maple and Sage. These applications are
powerful computer algebra systems with extensive
graphing capabilities. Mathematica and Maple are
expensive commercial packages, whereas Sage is free and
is developed by a network of mathematicians around the
world. The use of a computer algebra system (CAS) can
greatly simplify the creation of visualizations; the CAS can
handle the computations of derivatives, locations of objects
and other details, all of which can be very tedious otherwise.
The movie of a spaceship on a torus (see Figure 2) was
created wholly within Mathematica. (Available at
http://www.wolfram.com, http://www.maplesoft.com, and
http://www.sagemath.org.)
POV-Ray (Persistence of Vision Raytracer).
Raytracing software allows a user to give a simple
description of the mathematical objects in a scene—a
sphere, a plane, and so on—along with the placement of
light sources and then generates an image of the scene; this
is the type of software used by computer animation
studios. POV-Ray is freely available and has extensive
documentation online. The individual frames of Möbius
Transformations Revealed was rendered using POV-Ray,
although some of the mathematical computations used to
describe the scene were done with Mathematica.
(Available at http://www.povray.org. Sage also has a built
in raytracer called Tachyon.)