Synthetic Division

Dividing polynomials by linear terms via the tableau method of synthetic division used to be a standard part of the high-school mathematics curriculum. It is not part of the Common Core, but many States, in rewriting their own standards, have put it back in. I have no objections to teaching any piece of mathematics if it is taught with thinking, context, and meaning.

This video, for teachers who have thought about and struggled with teaching this topic, is my (very swift) attempt to give a meaningful and honest context for it.

The Context and Thinking Story behind Synthetic Division.

• ON-LINE SHORT COURSES!

  QUADRATICS, Permutations and Combinations, EXPLODING DOTS, and more!

  Written for educators - and their students too! - this website, slowly growing, takes all the content Tanton has developed in his books, videos, and workshops, and organizes it into short, self-contained, and complete, curriculum units proving that mathematics, at all points of the school curriculum, can be joyous, fresh, innovative, rich, deep-thinking, and devoid of any rote doing! Let's teach generations of students to be self-reliant thinkers, willing to flail and to use their common sense to "nut their way" through challenges, to assess and judge results, and to adjust actions to find success. (Great life skills!)

  CHECK OUT: www.gdaymath.com

• Books

  • Thinking Mathematics! (TEN VOLUMES)
  • Solve This: Mathematical Activities for Students and Clubs
  • Encyclopedia of Mathematics
  • Geometry I & II

• Get in touch

  Email: tanton.math@gmail.com