Welcome!
Thinking Mathematics is an uncluttered and joyous approach to school mathematics … middle school, high school and beyond! This site is based on, and extends further, the material that appears in the book series THINKING MATHEMATICS! Experience joyous, accessible, true mathematics. There have been over 390,000 video views from this site! Check them out here and here.
Follow “@jamestanton” on twitter.com.
NEW! Monthly mathematical letters to enjoy. Sign up at tanton.math@gmail.com or just keep checking here! (Also check out MAA AMC Curriculum Inspirations.)
Enjoy “HOW TO THINK LIKE A SCHOOL MATH GENIUS: A Teacher’s Guide – FIVE PRINCIPLES” at Genius Thinking.
Read A Few Thoughts on Assessment for a few provocative thoughts on this truly joyous subject! Also have a look at What made me a Mathematician (and why I teach the way I do).
On this site you will find ..
- Curriculum Tidbits: Written essays – and VIDEO ESSAYS!! – for teachers and students on typical highschool topics. Learn the joyous way to think about them!
- Cool Mathematics: Essays on unusual topics to surprise and curious visual puzzles to delight.
- Think Mathematics!: A course on how to think like a mathematician! It’s for students and for teachers.
- Books: Materials to obtain for your very own.
This website is new and growing. More and more material appears regularly. Enjoy!
NEWS FLASH … WEIRD WAYS TO WORK WITH PI is a new booklet all about weird ways to think of pi! (Who said pi applies only to circles?) It’s available here. (Click on the fourth page of books!) It comes as an actual book, or as a PDF download for immediate satisfaction.
AND THERE’S MORE!! There is a TEACHERS’ GUIDE AND SOLUTIONS to GEOMETRY: Volume 1, a high-school geometry text – first semester. Solutions to volume II (second semester) underway. These texts are now being used by three high schools. Order here.
AND TEACHERS! Looking for a State Licensure Exam Preparation Guide? Here is Tanton’s Take on how to pass a middle-school or high-school mathematics licensure exam from the Department of Education. (STUDENTS: Interested in learning what the government thinks teachers need to know in order teach mathematics?)
Featured essay: Here are two essays!
The first, on Pick’s theorem, is an extended version of a research article that appeared in Feb/March 2010 issue of FOCUS! It represents the work young middle- and high-schoolers can joyously conduct on a research level.
Pick’s Theorem – and beyond!
This second piece is certainly accessible and fun.
Weird Multiplication
