Patent US 8,708,703

An improved method of teaching mathematics which enables students to take an active and enjoyable role in their own learning via an interactive puzzle is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, each of the ten digits, zero through nine, is “hidden” within one of ten value positions (52). Students must deduce the value of each position by forming sums, differences, products, and/or quotients of the positions. Freedom of selection of positions and operations provides for individualized approaches to puzzle solutions, and the interplay of values and operations promotes number sense. Mathematical reasoning is intrinsic to the puzzle. Programmable settings (72) allow the teacher to modify the puzzle, including substituting more challenging values in place of the digits (98), supplying more complex functions (106) in place of the four elementary arithmetic operations, and adjusting the format of the answers.