Montana Educator's Conference 2019: Making logarithms meaningful through progressive formalization

(This is similar to the session that David Webb, Raymond Johnson, and I facilitated at NCTM, 2019)

Logarithms are often seen as one of the most complicated and abstract concepts in secondary mathematics.

Consider these problems. Many people—even those who can solve the problems using abstract procedures—would struggle to find meaning in the problem.

In this session, we shared a unit that makes logarithms meaningful. The unit uses realistic contexts and multiple representations to help guide students towards an understanding of progressively more formal logarithms.

You can download the slides and the complete unit below.

Resources from the session

• Download the slides from the session
• Download the complete unit to use with your students (in Word format, so it is easily modifiable)
• Part A: exponential growth
• Part B: exponential functions
• Part C: logarithmic functions

The unit was initially developed by Henk van der Koij, with input and further development from Monica Geist and David Webb. The unit has been taught at many high schools, community colleges, and universities.