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Please read before closing as a duplicate of: Maths Education Questions

I am wondering specifically about the process of Math education; I was recently considering showing Grant Sanderson's (3blue1brown) videos on linear algebra to a student; and I am wondering on the efficacy of using videos for Math education, as opposed to 'old school' pen and paper, or even techniques to interface the two styles.

This question does not have to do specifically with decomposing a math concept; but it is about Math education itself.

Is this appropriate for this site?

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    $\begingroup$ That earlier Question (from 2010) predates the start of the Math Education sister site (2014), so I am fine with your current meta Math.SE post. Some Math Education topics are appropriate here (IMHO), but asking whether showing online videos is more efficacious than pencil and paper (for teaching/learning linear algebra) isn't a compelling example. As a rule of thumb I'd favor content that does involve "a math concept" about which a reasoned argument can be presented. $\endgroup$
    – hardmath
    Jan 29, 2021 at 21:03

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Given that the post linked in the question is quite old, perhaps it is time to update the answer, particularly in light of the fact that the Mathematics Educators SE site has come into existence since that question was posted.

There are at least three places on the SE network where a question about mathematics education might be appropriate:

  1. Mathematics SE: Mathematics SE does have a tag for , and there are questions about mathematics education which would be appropriate here. However, to be on-topic, such questions should focus primarily on the underlying mathematical concept. For example, this question on identifying a quadrilateral is a reasonably good example of a mathematics education question where the core issue is mathematical, rather than pedagogical. The tag is also a good fit, I think, because there are some issues here related to education (e.g. some books define trapezoids as quadrilaterals with exactly one pair of parallel sides; what information can be assumed from a figure?; and so on).

  2. Mathematics Educators SE: For most questions about mathematics education, Mathematics Educators is probably the right place to go, particularly for questions where the primary emphasis is on pedagogy. To contrast with the question cited above, this question also deals with classifying quadrilaterals. However, the question's focus is primarily on how to address the ambiguity of the definition with students. The asker understands that different authors define trapezoids slightly differently, and wants advice on how to address this issue with students. Questions about the efficacy of teaching techniques are also appropriate for Mathematics Educators SE, which seems to cover the use case suggested in the question.

  3. Academia SE: Academia SE does have a teaching tag, and questions about mathematics education might be appropriate there, under some circumstances. While Academia SE focuses more on the role of teacher in the classroom, rather than on the pedagogy itself, I have seen well-received questions about the practice of teaching (pedagogy, classroom management, etc) on the site. For example, this question on handwriting was well-received, and garnered a number of answers. Good teaching questions for Academia SE would be those that focus on the generalities of teaching, rather than on the specifics of mathematics education.

I will also note that there does not seem to be a "Teaching and Learning" or "Educators" SE site (we have education sites for math and CS, but not a general educators site). I wonder if there would be support for such a thing. Area 51...?

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Rather than wondering if your question is on-topic here, have you considered our sister site Mathematics Educators? I'm not a regular there but it seems like a decent fit:

Mathematics Educators Stack Exchange (MESE) is a question and answer site for those involved in the field of teaching mathematics.

The community welcomes questions on teaching mathematics and the process of learning mathematics at all levels. From questions about helping children to appreciate numbers to suggestions on the advisement of doctoral students conducting original research, a broad spectrum of questions about mathematics education is admissible.

In particular, both questions on research in mathematics education and questions seeking hands-on advice are welcome.

(source)

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This would be more appropriate for Mathematics Educators SE.

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