Mathematics education
mathematics teaching, learning and scholarly research
In contemporary education, mathematics education (known in Europe as the didactics or pedagogy of mathematics) is the practice of teaching, learning, and carrying out scholarly research into the transfer of mathematical knowledge.
Although research into mathematics education is primarily concerned with the tools, methods, and approaches that facilitate practice or the study of practice, it also covers an extensive field of study encompassing a variety of different concepts, theories and methods. National and international organisations regularly hold conferences and publish literature in order to improve mathematics education.
Objectives
At different times and in different cultures and countries, mathematics education has attempted to achieve a variety of different objectives. These objectives have included:
The teaching and learning of basic numeracy skills to all students
The teaching of practical mathematics (arithmetic, elementary algebra, plane and solid geometry, trigonometry, probability, statistics) to most students, to equip them to follow a trade or craft and to understand mathematics commonly used in news and the Internet (such as percentages, charts, probability, and statistics)
The teaching of abstract mathematical concepts (such as set and function) at an early age
The teaching of selected areas of mathematics (such as Euclidean geometry) as an example of an axiomatic system and a model of deductive reasoning
The teaching of selected areas of mathematics (such as calculus) as an example of the intellectual achievements of the modern world
The teaching of advanced mathematics to those students who wish to follow a career in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields
The teaching of heuristics and other problem-solving strategies to solve non-routine problems
The teaching of mathematics in social sciences and actuarial sciences, as well as in some selected arts under liberal arts education in liberal arts colleges or universities
Methods
The method or methods used in any particular context are largely determined by the objectives that the relevant educational system is trying to achieve. Methods of teaching mathematics include the following:
Computer-based math: an approach based on the use of mathematical software as the primary tool of computation.
Computer-based mathematics education: involves the use of computers to teach mathematics. Mobile applications have also been developed to help students learn mathematics.
Classical education: the teaching of mathematics within the quadrivium, part of the classical education curriculum of the Middle Ages, which was typically based on Euclid's Elements taught as a paradigm of deductive reasoning.
Conventional approach: the gradual and systematic guiding through the hierarchy of mathematical notions, ideas and techniques.
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This entry incorporates text from “Mathematics education” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.