The Conversation

Challenging the status quo in mathematics: Teaching for understanding

Written by Christopher Rakes, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

How can we change math instruction to meet the needs of today's kids?World Bank Photo Collection / flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Despite decades of reform efforts, mathematics teaching in the U.S. has changed little in the last century. As a result, it seems, American students have been left behind, now ranking 40th in the world in math literacy.

Several...

Reverse engineering mysterious 500-million-year-old fossils that confound our tree of life

Written by Simon Darroch, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Vanderbilt University

Here's the fossil... what can you tell about how this animal lived?Matteo De Stefano/MUSE-Science Museum, CC BY-SA

Paleontologists like us are used to working with fossils that would seem bizarre to many biologists accustomed to living creatures. And as we go farther back in Earth’s history, the fossils start to look even weirder. They lack...

ATMs dispense more than money: The dirt and dope that's on your cash

Written by Johanna Ohm, Graduate Student in Biology, Pennsylvania State University

Those keypads are teeming with microbes.AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

We live in a dirty world. Wherever we go, we are among microbes. Bacteria, fungi and viruses live on our phones, bus seats, door handles and park benches. We pass these tiny organisms to each other when we share a handshake or a seat on the plane.

Now, researchers are finding we also...

Most expensive race in House history turns out nearly 58 percent of Georgia district's voters

Written by Jeffrey Lazarus, Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University

Republican candidate for Georgia's Sixth District congressional seat Karen Handel declares victory with her husband Steve.AP Photo/John Bazemore

I’m a political science professor living in Georgia’s Sixth House district, where Republican Karen Handel eked out a victory of nearly four points over Democrat John Ossoff in a special House...

Fixing a toxic culture like Uber's requires more than just a new CEO

Written by Katina Sawyer, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Villanova University

A toxic corporate culture may begin at the top, but it doesn't end there. AP Photo/Eric Risberg

In times of organizational crisis, some companies are able to right the ship, while others sink under the pressure.

Recently, Uber has been under fire for a bad corporate culture, which promoted, among other things, sexism and other forms of toxic...

Why there are costs to moral outrage

Written by Justin Tosi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Lecturer, University of Michigan

What exactly is outrage?Philip Pilosian/Shutterstock

Many Americans are morally outraged that U.S. President Donald Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, who had been investigating possible links between Trump’s election campaign and the Russian government. Many others are angry that Comey accused President Trump of lying about the...

Will guilty verdict in teen texting suicide case lead to new laws on end-of-life issues?

Written by David Rossman, Professor of Law, Boston University

Michelle Carter after being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.AP/ Glenn C. Silva

In Massachusetts, a 17-year-old girl named Michelle Carter repeatedly urged her boyfriend, who had a history of mental illness, to kill himself. And then, he did.

As Conrad Roy III sat in his truck in 2014 and was overcome by carbon monoxide, he had second...

How secure are today's ATMs? 5 questions answered

Written by Pradeep Atrey, Associate Professor of Computer Science, University at Albany, State University of New York

Using an ATM isn't risk-free, but there's a lot of security already.milicad/shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: Automated teller machines, better known as ATMs, are turning 50 on June 27. Computer science professor Pradeep Atrey, from the University at Albany, State University of New York, explains the security features and concerns of modern...

When – and why – did people first start using money?

Written by Chapurukha Kusimba, Professor of Anthropology, American University

The advantages of coins as currency were clear.cgb , CC BY-SA

Sometimes you run across a grimy, tattered dollar bill that seems like it’s been around since the beginning of time. Assuredly it hasn’t, but the history of human beings using cash currency does go back a long time – 40,000 years.

Scientists have tracked exchange and...

Amazon dives into groceries with Whole Foods: Five questions answered

Written by Roger Meiners, Goolsby-Rosenthal Endowed Chair of Economics, University of Texas Arlington

Editor’s note: Amazon became a major player in the supermarket business overnight after the online retailer said it was buying upscale grocery chain Whole Foods for US$13.7 billion, including debt, a premium of 27 percent over Whole Foods’ presale share price. The purchase would be Amazon’s biggest ever. We asked economist Roger...