This is a slightly revised version of the Presidential address (General) delivered at the 84th Annual Conference of the Indian Mathematical Society held at Jammu, India during November 2018.
Robust preparation of future secondary mathematics teachers requires attention to the acquisition of mathematical knowledge for teaching. Many future teachers learn mathematics content primarily through mathematics major courses that are taught by mathematicians who do not specialize in teacher preparation. How can mathematics education researchers assist mathematicians in making explicit connections between the content of undergraduate mathematics courses and the content of secondary mathematics? We present an articulation of five types of connections that can be used in secondary mathematics…
Mathematics is a compulsory subject in Nigerian secondary schools, and the subject plays an important role in the scientific and technological growth and development of the nation. A shortfall in the knowledge of the students in Mathematics means that the goal may not be realized, hence the need to improve teaching methods for solving the problem of poor performance in the subject. This study evaluated the effect of the activity-based teaching method on the students' achievement in secondary school Mathematics. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design u…
Over the past thirty years or so the authors have been teaching various programming for mathematics courses at our respective Universities, as well as incorporating computer algebra and numerical computation into traditional mathematics courses. These activities are, in some important ways, natural precursors to the use of Artificial Intelligence in Mathematics Education. This paper reflects on some of our course designs and experiences and is therefore a mix of theory and practice. Underlying both is a clear recognition of the value of computer programming for mathematics education. We use th…
Many mathematicians find mathematics aesthetically beautiful and even comparable to art forms such as music or painting. On the other hand, every year a great number of school students leave mathematics with total disillusionment and bitterness, without ever witnessing any beauty in it. In this work, we give some strategies to teach mathematics, especially to gifted students and to instill a love of mathematics in them. We will describe an integrated approach to teaching mathematics where students are introduced to more advanced, more elegant and more beautiful aspects of the subject early. Th…
Some recent trends from research mathematics and their connections to teaching: Case studies inspired by parallel developments in science and technology
线性代数和微积分是理科大学教授的两门主要数学科目。然而,这种教学一直很难。在过去的二十年里,它成为一个活跃的领域,在数学教育的研究工作在几个国家。我们的目标是提供一个综合的概述,这些作品的主要成果,重点是最近的发展。我们将讨论的主要问题涉及:线性代数的认识论的特殊性及其与数学史研究的相互作用;学习线性代数的认知灵活性; G. Harel;几何与线性代数的关系; M.罗加尔斯克
Development of theory and methods of use of information and communication technologies in teaching mathematics of engineering specialities students in the United States
Two major learning theories have dominated recent literature on optimizing knowledge acquisition: constructivism and cognitive load theory. Constructivism, on the one hand, gives preeminent value to the development of students' self-regulated process of constructing mathematical concepts. Its basic tenet is that students acquire their own mathematical understanding by constructing them from the inside rather than by internalizing them from the outside. Cognitive load theory, on the other hand, suggests that the free exploration of a highly complex environment may cause a heavy working memory l…
This paper discusses our experiences and challenges in teaching advanced undergraduate Real Analysis classes for Mathematics Education students at the University of PGRI (Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia, Indonesian Teachers Association) Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. We observe that the syllabus contains topics with a high level of difficulty for the students who are specialized in education and intend to teach mathematics at the secondary level. The conventional lecturing method is mainly implemented during the class, with some possible variations of the method, including the Texas me…
The theoretical and methodical foundations of usage of information and communication technologies in teaching higher mathematics engineering students in universities of the United States
This article provides brief guidance for a successful graduate teaching assistantship at our school. Although the components mentioned in this article are primarily aimed at mathematics courses designated as the "Basic Science and Mathematics" (BSM) modules with multiple sections, the principle can also be applied and adapted to other courses and institutions as well.
Career opportunities for PhDs in the mathematical sciences have never been better. Traditional faculty positions in mathematics departments in colleges and universities range from all teaching to combined teaching and research responsibilities. Beyond those, a wide array of careers has now opened up to freshly minted graduates, in academics, industry, business, and government. It is well-understood that these all require somewhat different preparations for PhDs to be competitive. This commentary compares and contrasts mathematics graduate programs with Ph.D. programs in the life and biomedical…
We present a simple but efficient concept for the realization of blended teaching of mathematics and its applications in theoretical mechanics that was conceived, tested and implemented at the University of Trento, Italy, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept foresees traditional blackboard lectures with a reduced number of students present in the lecture hall, while the same lectures are simultaneously made available to the remaining students via high quality low-bandwidth online streaming. Based on our first assumption that traditional blackboard lectures, including the gestures and the …
Geometry is essentially a global language, which is fully understood in different times, countries and cultures. The proof of a geometric theorem (e.g. the Pythagorean Theorem) or a geometric construction (e.g. the construction of an equilateral triangle with straightedge and compass) is recognized in more or less the same way by everyone. This fact, in combination with other parameters, brings out a human face for geometric and mathematical achievements in general, thus allowing people and civilizations to come together.
Contribution: We demonstrate that it is feasible to include field specific problems in introductory mathematics courses to motivate engineering students. This is done in a way that still allows large parts of the course to be common to all students, ensuring economic viability. Background: Many first-year engineering students perceive mathematics courses as being too abstract and far from their chosen study programme. This may lead to a lack of motivation and effort, thus decreasing the learning outcomes. Intended outcomes: That engineering students recognize that the calculus and linear algeb…
One of the demands of modern teaching is the interdisciplinary approach of cognitive subjects and in particular that of the natural sciences, with simultaneous engagement of teachers and students. At the same time, teaching scenarios seem to be gaining ground in the methodology of teaching and learning Mathematics in school. In this paper we analyze the concepts of the teaching scenario and interdisciplinarity, and we briefly present the basic results of a teaching experiment using teaching scenario, focused on the teaching of Minkowskian Metric in two dimensions.