EDU 330 Elementary Mathematics

Mathematics education has been undergoing steady change for the past two decades. One of the factors to the changes is the public or political pressure for change in mathematics education due to student performance in national and international studies. Standards and Principles for School Mathematics (NCTM, 200) provides guidance and direction for teachers and other leaders in mathematics education. Standards and Principles includes four grade bands. There are five standards contents throughout the grades. They are,

• ·         Number and Operations
• ·         Algebra
• ·         Geometry
• ·         Measurement
• ·         Data Analysis and Probability

Each content standard has its own set of goals that are applicable for the different grade bands and expectations of what they students should know. All the five contents are applicable across all the grades; there is different emphasis in every grade band.

Following the five standard contents, are five process standards. They are;

• ·         Problem solving – Using problem solving as a tool for students to develop mathematical ideas. Students are also encourage to apply and adapt variety of appropriate strategies to solve problems
• ·         Reasoning and Proof – Students are encouraged to use logical thinking to provide rationale as part of their answers. This is to prove on whether or not their answers make sense.
• ·         Communication – Being able to talk, write, describe and explain about their mathematical ideas.
• ·         Connections – Students being able to connect mathematics within and among mathematical ideas or to connect with the real world and other subject areas like art, science, language arts and social studies.
• ·         Representations – Being able to use symbols, manipulative, charts, diagrams and other materials as tools to express mathematical ideas and relationships.

Mathematics is more than solving problems or completing sets of exercises. Doing mathematics is to generate strategies to problem solve, applying different approaches that leads to solutions and to see if they make sense to prove your answers.

Come on! Let's do Math!