Mat-Rix-Toe: Improving Writing Through a Game-based Project in Linear Algebra

Abstract

The Mat-Rix-Toe project utilizes a matrix-based game to deepen students’ understanding of linear algebra concepts and strengthen students’ ability to express themselves mathematically. The project was administered in three classes using slightly different approaches, each of which included some editing component to encourage the improvement of the students’ mathematical thinking and writing. Differences in the implementation of the project illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of various methods of editing in the mathematics classroom and highlight recommendations for improvements in future implementations of the project.

Keywords:

• Mat-Rix-Toe
• linear algebra
• games
• writing
• editing
• project

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Project NExT for initiating the collaboration for this project, and the Games Panel (Doug Ensley, Rachel Esselstein, Jim Henle, and Shonda Kuiper) for inspiring the development of games as a tool in the mathematics curriculum. In addition, the authors are thankful to their home institutions for their support of innovative approaches to teaching.

Notes

1. ¹Unbeknownst to the author at the time, a similar construction appeared in two previous Putnam exams (2002 and 2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adam Graham-Squire

Adam Graham-Squire is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at High Point University. He earned a B.A. in Mathematics from Whitman College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was a 2011–2012 Project NExT fellow. In his spare time, Adam tries (usually unsuccessfully) to come up with clever things to put into his bio.

Elin Farnell

Elin Farnell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Kenyon College. She earned a B.A. in Mathematics at Whitman College and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Mathematics at Colorado State University. She is interested in high-dimensional data analysis and applications of mathematics in general. Elin enjoys bringing applications of mathematics and recreational mathematics into the classroom to engage her students. In her free time, she likes to play as much volleyball and tennis as possible.

Julianna Connelly Stockton

Julianna Connelly Stockton is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Sacred Heart University, and a Project NExT 2011 Fellow. She earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Olin College, and a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research interests include international comparative mathematics education and the mathematical preparation of teachers. In the classroom, Julianna is particularly interested in inquiry-based learning and incorporating primary historical sources in mathematics courses. When not teaching, she enjoys traveling and making pretty things with paper.