article thumbnail

The Role of Mathematics in Education

Ask a Tech Teacher

The Role of Mathematics in Education: What Professions You Can Get in the Future Have you ever found yourself pondering the real-world applications of those algebraic formulas or geometric theorems you spent hours trying to decipher in school? But how does this abstract discipline translate into tangible career paths?

article thumbnail

Are Students’ Math Futures Being Unwittingly Set By Tracking?

ED Surge

When Pierrce Holmes entered ninth grade, his school put him in 9C, a lower-level algebra class. He was switched over to the more advanced class, which taught algebra II and geometry. The Complicated Reality of Tracking Getting rid of tracking is not the answer, says Julia Kaufman, a senior policy researcher at RAND.

Math 295
educators

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Why Do Underrepresented Students Struggle to Get the Math They Need for College?

ED Surge

Students who don’t know that colleges prioritize calculus find themselves at a disadvantage in college admissions, according to “ Integral Voices: Examining Math Experiences of Underrepresented Students ,” a recent report from Just Equations, a California-based policy institute focused on making math more equitable.

Calculus 233
article thumbnail

In College Math, Faculty Is Key. But Will This Insight Actually Help Students?

ED Surge

A number of instructors in the math department at San Diego Mesa College, where she's a professor, had started exploring how to weave standards-based grading — an approach that evaluates students on how effectively they have mastered content — into the way they teach calculus. So far, Spoon reports that the changes are invigorating.

Math 265
article thumbnail

New Effort Hopes to Make ‘Weed-Out’ Courses More Equitable

ED Surge

Research by the nonprofit Gardner Institute and other groups has found that these typically-freshman-year classes tend to prune some kinds of students from academic tracks more than others. Research shows students may drop out or change their major based on these gateway courses.” Organic chemistry , anyone?) history surveys.

Chemistry 232
article thumbnail

Math Instruction Isn’t Working. Could Better Teacher Training Help?

ED Surge

Although it’s not as obviously contentious as say, social studies, educators and researchers (not to mention students and families) have strong feelings about math instruction (remember New Math ? Poor teacher support and inadequate training, researchers suggest, may be contributing. Or even newer math ?) isn’t working.

Math 308
article thumbnail

Don’t Give Up on Algebra: Let’s Shift the Focus to Instruction

National Science Foundation

In its current form, school algebra serves as a gatekeeper to higher-level mathematics. Researchers and policy makers have pushed to open that gate—providing more students access to algebra, focusing in particular on those students historically denied access to higher-level mathematics. Domina et al., 2015; Dougherty et al.,

Algebra 76