Teaching Mathematics with Technology: Introducing Factors with a Tiling Simulation
Robert J. Jensen · The Arithmetic Teacher · 1988
The concept of factor is often confusing for students when it is first introduced in the elementary curriculum. Motivating the development of new ideas through problem-solving episodes can be a fruitful approach before formal instruction begins. A tiling problem is posed here for your students to investigate using the microcomputer as a tool. Since factors, common factors, and the greatest common factor play a crucial role in the solution to problems of this type, this advance activity will give students a specific context upon which to build meaning for these concepts when they are fo rmally introduced.