Implementing the “Assessment Standards for School Mathematics”: Some Practical Possibilities for Alternative Assessment

1997 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-49
Author(s):  
Cathy G. Schloemer
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Mathematics Classroom ◽  
Secondary Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
National Council ◽  
The Real ◽  
Assessment Standards ◽  
Standards Documents

Imagine that you are a teacher in a secondary mathematics classroom, working hard to implement the precepts of the Standards documents {National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 1989, 1991, 1995). In particular, you are focusing on getting your students to (1) make connections between mathematics and the real world, (2) reason and communicate mathematically, and (3) value mathematics. A colleague with whom you often share classroom concerns and successes stops by during a rare quiet moment and, in the course of conversation about your most recent classroom endeavors, asks, “How is it going?” How might you reply?

Implementing the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards: What Will Implementation Take?

1991 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 442-478
Author(s):  
Ruth E. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
National Council ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
The Real ◽  
Short Answer ◽  
Mathematics Educators ◽  
Mathematics Student ◽  
History Of ◽  
Culture Of School

A long history of traditions has grown up around what is meant by a good mathematics teacher and a good mathematics student. As many educators recognize, however, those traditions have little in common with mathematics in the world of the 1990s. Mathematics as it is used in the real world is not about the memorization of theorems or rote procedures for getting right answers. It is not about performing well on multiplechoice or short-answer tests under time constraints. “At the heart of mathematics is the search for sense and meaning, order and predictability. Mathematics is the study of patterns and relationships” (Richardson and Salkeld, in press). The challenge for mathematics educators is to align the culture of school mathematics with the culture of mathematics in the real world. With its publication of the Curriculum and Evaluation S tandards for School Mathematics (1989), the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) established the direction for such mathematics reform.

Language Activities That Promote Awareness of Mathematics

1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 6-9
Author(s):  
James S. Cangelosi
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Real World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
National Council ◽  
Life Meaning ◽  
The Real ◽  
Education Literature ◽  
Teaching Of Mathematics ◽  
Primary Focus

Developing students' abilities to rcason with mathematics and apply mathematics to the solution of problems occurring in the real world hould be a primary focus of school mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 1980). However, most mathemati cal curricula seem to place more emphasis on memorization of fact and algorithm than on reasoning and problem solving (Romberg and Carpenter 1986). The mathematics education literature abound with ideas for reversing the emphasis on memorization and for guiding the teaching of mathematics so that it has real-life meaning for children. Included among the idea are the following:

News from the Net: Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 407
Author(s):  
Barbara L. Clanton
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Mathematics Classroom ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
National Council ◽  
Link Type ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
Good Resource

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) lists the Learning Principle as one of its six principles for school mathematics. The Learning Principle suggests that students learn by actively building new knowledge from prior knowledge. In doing so, they will become autonomous learners. NCTM promotes a mathematics classroom environment in which students feel comfortable making mistakes that can lead to learning opportunities. Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies, located at www.mathgoodies.com, can support teachers' implementation of these two recommendations and is a good resource for students in grades 4–9 as well as parents.

scholarly journals Developing purposeful mathematical thinking: a curious tale of apple trees

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-103
Author(s):  
Janet Ainley
Keyword(s):  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Mathematical Thinking ◽  
Task Design ◽  
Mathematical Understanding ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Apple Trees ◽  
The Real

In this paper I explore aspects of the ways in which school mathematics relates to the “real” world, and argue that this relationship is an uneasy one. Through exploring the causes of this unease, I aim to expose some problems in the ways in which context is used within mathematics education, and argue that the use of context does not ensure that the purposes of mathematics are made transparent. I present and discuss a framework for task design that adopts a different perspective on mathematical understanding, and on purposeful mathematical thinking. Desarrollo de un pensamiento matemático intencionado: un relato curioso de manzanos En este artículo exploro aspectos de las maneras en que las matemáticas escolares se relacionan con el mundo “real” y argumento que esta relación es preocupante. Al explorar las causas de esta preocupación, me propongo exponer algunos problemas que surgen de las formas en que se usa el contexto en Educación Matemática y argumento que el uso del contexto no asegura la transparencia de los propósitos de las matemáticas. Presento y discuto un esquema para el diseño de tareas que adopta una perspectiva diferente sobre la comprensión de las matemáticas y el pensamiento matemático intencionado.Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10481/19524

Connecting Measurement and Architecture: Building an Inflatable

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-149
Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Gray ◽  
Denise Tullier-Holly
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Middle School Students ◽  
Real World ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Classroom Experiences ◽  
School Students ◽  
The Real ◽  
Mathematical Connections ◽  
Principles And Standards

Middle school students need to see connections between mathematics and the real world. However, they often learn mathematics as a set of distinct topics or separate strands, because a majority of the available textbooks tends to present it that way, and teachers tend to follow the textbooks. According to Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 2000), our students should be made aware of mathematical connections explicitly so that the manner in which topics are connected is obvious. McClain (1996) suggests that if teachers offer classroom experiences in which students can see connections, then “the vibrant discipline of mathematics actively engages students in their own learning” (p. 682).

Projects: Developing Modelers and Modeling Opportunities: The Stepping Stones Project

1997 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 686-688
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modeling ◽  
Mathematics Education ◽  
Real World ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Stepping Stones ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
The Real ◽  
World Modeling

Mathematical modeling is an emerging theme in mathematics education. In addition to giving students a knowledge of the applications of mathematics and a process for applying mathematics in the “real” world, modeling offers teachers an excellent vehicle for introducing and developing students' mathematical knowledge. For these reasons, modeling occupies a prominent place in the recommendations of the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989).

scholarly journals Mathematical modeling of tech-related real-world problems for secondary school-level mathematics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zehavit Kohen ◽  
Doron Orenstein
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Modeling ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Real World ◽  
Mathematics Curriculum ◽  
Secondary Mathematics ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
School Level ◽  
Workplace Mathematics ◽  
Secondary School Level ◽  
Real World Problems

AbstractThe use of authentic real-world problems that reflect the applied nature of mathematics is not prevalent in formal secondary school settings. In this study, we explore the interface between workplace mathematics, particularly tech-related real-world (TRW) problems, and school mathematics, through the explication of mathematical modeling. The research questions are (1) in which tech domains can real-world problems be identified that can be addressed using mathematical modeling for the secondary school level? (2) Which methods do engineers use to simplify tech-related problems for non-experts in their field? (3) In which areas in the secondary mathematics curriculum can TRW problems be mapped? We present a three-phase model which yielded the creation of a pool of 169 TRW problems. The first two phases of the model included extracting authentic problems from the work of tech engineers and simplifying them to be meaningful or perceivable to students. These were explored by conducting task-oriented interviews with senior tech engineers and scientists from leading companies and universities. The third phase was accomplished by interviewing mathematics education experts, and included verifying the compatibility of the problems with the formal, secondary-level mathematics curriculum. The study has methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions. These include methodology that enables identifying TRW problems that are compliant with the secondary mathematics curriculum; adding to the literature about mathematical modeling by demonstrating the interface between workplace mathematics and school mathematics; and creating a large pool of TRW problems that can be used in secondary school math lessons.

Sharing Teaching Ideas: Career Posters

1994 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 410-411
Author(s):  
Peggy Tibbs ◽  
Janette Jordan
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Real World ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
High School Mathematics ◽  
Actual Problem ◽  
The Real ◽  
School Year ◽  
Teaching Ideas

After teaching high school mathematics for many years I found the perfect way to respond to the students' question, “How are we ever going to use this in the real world?” Two or three weeks into the school year I ask each student to make a career poster. The student must interview someone who uses mathematics in his or her job and write down an actual problem that person would have to solve as well as a paragraph explaining the problem. Most students think that they don't know anyone who uses mathematics at work, including parents, relatives, or neighbors. Usually they come back the next day to report, to their surprise, that their parents use mathematics! This discovery is a revelation to them.

The Cevian Problem

1998 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 388-392
Author(s):  
Duane W. DeTemple ◽  
Marjorie Ann Fitting
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Real World ◽  
Multiple Representations ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
The Real

The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989) challenges the teacher to shift away from memorization and set procedures. Instead, teachers should emphasize developing flexible strategies of problem solving, finding multiple representations, and making connections to other areas of mathematics and to the real world. The cevian problem presented here illustrates how to implement this shift of emphasis.

Technology Tips: Making Connections Using Embedded Software

1995 ◽  
Vol 88 (6) ◽  
pp. 500-502
Author(s):  
Claire Groden ◽  
Laurie Pattison-Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Real World ◽  
Mathematics Classroom ◽  
Embedded Software ◽  
School Mathematics ◽  
Evaluation Standards ◽  
The World ◽  
Real World Applications ◽  
Interdisciplinary Projects ◽  
Real World Situation

The NCTM's Curriculum and Evaluation Standards or School Mathematics (1989) calls for increased ttention to “connecting mathematics to other subjects and to the world outside the classroom.” Often, these connections are made with interdisciplinary projects and through the study of mathematics embedded in a real-world situation. We can also make connections by using software created for practical, real-world applications in the mathematics classroom

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