Zoltán Pál Dienes (Hungarian: [ˈzoltaːn ˈpaːl ˈdijɛnɛʃ]; September 11, 1916 – January 11, 2014), anglicized as Zoltan Paul Dienes, was a Hungarian mathematician whose ideas on education (especially of small children) have been popular in some countries.[1] He was a world-famous theorist and tireless practitioner of the "new mathematics": an approach to mathematics learning that uses games, songs, and dance to make it more appealing to children.[2] He is credited with the creation of base ten blocks, popularly referred to as Dienes blocks.[3]

Dienes's life and ideas are described in his autobiography, Memoirs of a Maverick Mathematician (ISBN 1844261921), and his book of mathematical games, I Will Tell You Algebra Stories You've Never Heard Before (ISBN 1844261913). He has also published a book of poetry, Calls from the Past (ISBN 1844261905).

His later life contributions have been chronicled by Bharath Sriraman in the second monograph of The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Dienes Pál, Dienes Valéria és Dienes László levelei
  2. ^ "Zoltan Paul Dienes (1916-2014)". zoltandienes.com. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Zoltan Paul Dienes (1916-2014) – Zoltan Dienes' Web Site". 13 January 2014. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
  4. ^ "Zoltan Paul Dienes and the dynamics of Mathematical Learning". The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast Monograph Series: University of Montana Press. Archived from the original on 2014-11-03. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
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