Civic Mathematics: A Real-Life General Mathematics Course

1994 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 396-401
Author(s):  
Terry Vatter
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
School District ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Democratic Society ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
The World

Our hopes for education coincide with those for our children: we want to help them grow into adults who will make the world an even better place for future generations. This goal may be a lofty one for a high school mathematics teacher, but it is important to keep our ideals clearly in mind as we develop ways to equip our students to live full lives and to make positive contributions to society. As educators we need to be responsible for teaching the skills that will enable students to (1) enter into a career or pursue their mathematics education and (2) become informed participants in a democratic society. The civic mathematics curriculum described in this article was driven by those objectives. It was developed over a summer and partially funded by a stipend from my school district

Ratio Analysis: Where Investments Meet Mathematics

2002 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68
Author(s):  
Susan D. Barton ◽  
Denise Woodbury
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Ratio Analysis ◽  
Valid Argument ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Mathematical Concepts ◽  
The World ◽  
Principles And Standards

A valid argument can be made that concepts in mathematics should be studied for their own intrinsic value. Yet almost every high school mathematics teacher has heard the plaintive wail, “When will I ever use this?” Many students need to ground their understanding of mathematical concepts in a realworld setting. NCTM's Principles and Standards for School Mathematics also confirms that developing connections among mathematics, other subjects, and the world outside the classroom is important in giving the students “greater mathematical power” (2000, p. 354).

Performing Operations with Matrices on Spreadsheets

1998 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 338-341
Author(s):  
Dusan Pagon
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Middle School ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Linear Algebra ◽  
Mathematics Teacher ◽  
Middle School Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Interested Reader ◽  
Basic Concepts

Although created mainly for other purposes, spreadsheets appear to be useful in mathematics education. For instance, Russell (1992) writes about spreadsheet activities in middle school mathematics in his book with the same title. In a Mathematics Teacher article, Hunt (1995) describes how he uses spreadsheets to teach students synthetic substitution, synthetic division, and Newton's method. Our experience shows that the same tool can be useful for performing matru operations and, further on, for introducing students to basic concepts of linear algebra. The interested reader can find additional examples of using spreadsheets in high school mathematics in Sjostrand's (1994) book, which deals with Excel spreadsheets.

scholarly journals Junior high school mathematics teachers’ knowledge in calculators

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-93
Author(s):  
Isaac Bengre Taley ◽  
Matilda Sarpong Adusei
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Junior High ◽  
Real Life ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
School Students ◽  
High School Mathematics Teachers

Helping junior high school students to use calculators and computers for problem solving and investigating real-life situations is an objective of the junior high school mathematics curriculum in Ghana. Ironically, there is a technological drought in junior high school mathematics instruction in Ghana, with a suspicion that mathematics teachers’ competency in the use of calculators for teaching may be the source of this lack of use. This study sought to establish a correlation between junior high school mathematics teachers’ competence and the motivation supporting the use of calculators in teaching.  A descriptive survey comprising of a test and questionnaire was used to collect data from junior high school mathematics teachers in an educational district in Ghana. Teacher characteristics such as educational attainment, age, and gender in relation to teachers’ competency in the use of calculators were discussed in the study. The results showed that about 70% of the teachers exhibited a low level of calculator competence. Besides, novice teachers outperformed expert teachers in the calculator competency-based test. Additionally, mathematics teachers’ enthusiasm for using calculators in teaching was directly associated with the teachers’ level of competency. The findings may send a signal to stakeholders in their efforts to revising the Ghana JHS curriculum in order to actualize the curriculum desire for the integration of technology in the teaching and learning of JHS mathematics.

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