Mathematics Education
Mathematics has been regarded as essential to liberal education at least since Plato maintained that proficiency in mathematics was a prerequisite for the study of philosophy. To day a good education in mathematics is important because of its usefulness in careers such as environmental studies, business, engineering, medicine and psychology, as well as in biological, mathematical and physical sciences. Knowledge of mathematics also helps students understand calculators and computers.
The goal of mathematics education is to enlarge the use of precise and accurate thinking to solve problems. A minimal mathematics proficiency, educators believe, would require students to learn the arithmetic of whole numbers and rational numbers (with both decimal and fractional rotation), to be able to measure in standard units and convert from one unit to another, to estimate and approximate, to use graphs and other methods of organizing and interpreting data to see patterns and trends, and to understand probabilistic ideas, the geometry of two and three dimensions, and the place of functions in science and mathematics.
In United States, Arithmetic is taught from kindergarten through grade 8, introductory algebra and intuitive geometry usually in grade 7 and 8, Algebra in grade 9, Geometry in grade 10, intermediate algebra, statistics, precalculus, analytic geometry, and sometimes Trigonometry and probability in grade 11 and 12. College mathematics usually begins with about 2 years of differential and integral calculus and linear algebra and covers probability theory.
Nearly all American children study mathematics through grade 8, and most take some mathematics courses in high school. In the mid 1980s, in response to findings that indicate unacceptable levels of math literacy, many states increased mathematics requirements for high school graduation. Increasingly, in the United States, algebra and geometry are included with some probability and statistics and some work with calculators even before the 9th grade.
The goal of mathematics education is to enlarge the use of precise and accurate thinking to solve problems. A minimal mathematics proficiency, educators believe, would require students to learn the arithmetic of whole numbers and rational numbers (with both decimal and fractional rotation), to be able to measure in standard units and convert from one unit to another, to estimate and approximate, to use graphs and other methods of organizing and interpreting data to see patterns and trends, and to understand probabilistic ideas, the geometry of two and three dimensions, and the place of functions in science and mathematics.
In United States, Arithmetic is taught from kindergarten through grade 8, introductory algebra and intuitive geometry usually in grade 7 and 8, Algebra in grade 9, Geometry in grade 10, intermediate algebra, statistics, precalculus, analytic geometry, and sometimes Trigonometry and probability in grade 11 and 12. College mathematics usually begins with about 2 years of differential and integral calculus and linear algebra and covers probability theory.
Nearly all American children study mathematics through grade 8, and most take some mathematics courses in high school. In the mid 1980s, in response to findings that indicate unacceptable levels of math literacy, many states increased mathematics requirements for high school graduation. Increasingly, in the United States, algebra and geometry are included with some probability and statistics and some work with calculators even before the 9th grade.
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