Tom O'Brien
November 6, 2010
Presenter
Tom O’Brien, who started Math Place because of concern about the small amount of challenging math materials available to teachers and parents these days, has been teaching math and conducting research on children’s thinking for more than 50 years. He has written several hundred articles on thinking (from pre-school through law school and medical school students) and he has published eBooks in the USA, UK, Brasil, Germany, Netherlands, and Australia (see
www.professortobbs.com).
He is the developer of prizewinning software: Safari Search, Teasers by Tobbs, Tobbs Learns Algebra, King's Rule, Puzzle Tanks, The Royal Rules, Blockers and Finders, Blockers and Finders II, Creature Cube and others
He is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships and he is a former North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Senior Research Fellow in Science.
Here is a part of Tom's book for the youngest mathematicians.
Mollybook-selections Tom O'Brien Math Place
About the project
Math Place is a growing hub of math materials created by Tom O'Brian and like-minded people.
Math Place makes available materials for learners aged 4 to adult. Some of the eBooks are classics. At the outset Math Place is tiny. The plan is to start small and add materials at frequent intervals.
Learning is seen as an active process involving problem solving, not the result of brute memorization followed by endless testing. The choice of materials for Math Place is influenced by the great psychologist Jean Piaget and the mathematician George Polya.
Piaget:
Education is provoked adaptation.
Polya:
Mathematics is not a spectator sport.
