Mathematics

The instruction of mathematics rests heavily on the first three process standards of the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics: problem solving, communication and reasoning. This course is organized around these three intertwined themes, each of which is crucial and pertinent to primary, middle and secondary teaching. The premise for this course is that the learning of mathematics by you and by your future students is best achieved by active student participation and involvement, discovery, critical thinking, working collaboratively in groups, written and verbal communication of ideas, the use of graphical representations when appropriate, and the exploration of more open ended problems.

This course is an overview to many of the uses of technology in the mathematics classroom. In this course you will explore graphics calculators and the Internet, study various mathematics software packages including a computer algebra system, statistics package, Geometer's Sketchpad and Microsoft Office, and learn to critique software lessons and packages.

This course is intended to extend the mathematical knowledge base of students by focusing on a particular area of pure mathematics. Common to all areas is the notion of proof, requiring rigorous command of the language of mathematics, along with a certain level of mathematical maturity.