Real World Problems For Secondary School Mathematics Students

This is a book full of ideas for introducing real world problems into mathematics classrooms and assisting teachers and students to benefit from the experience. Taken as a whole these contributions provide a rich resource for mathematics teachers and their students that is readily available in a single volume. Nowadays there is a universal emphasis on teaching for understanding, motivating students to learn mathematics and using real world problems to improve the mathematics experience of school students. However, using real world problems in mathematics classrooms places extra demands on teachers in terms of extra-mathematical knowledge e. g. knowledge of the area of applications, and pedagogical knowledge. Care must also be taken to avoid overly complex situations and applications. Papers in this collection offer a practical perspective on these issues, and more. While many papers offer specific well worked out lesson type ideas, others concentrate on the teacher knowledge needed to introduce real world applications of mathematics into the classroom. We are confident that mathematics teachers who read the book will find a myriad of ways to introduce the material into their classrooms whether in ways suggested by the contributing authors or in their own ways, perhaps through mini-projects or extended projects or practical sessions or enquiry based learning. We are happy if they do!

This is a book full of ideas for introducing real world problems into mathematics classrooms and assisting teachers and students to benefit from the experience. Taken as a whole these contributions provide a rich resource for mathematics teachers and their students that is readily available in a single volume. Nowadays there is a universal emphasis on teaching for understanding, motivating students to learn mathematics and using real world problems to improve the mathematics experience of school students. However, using real world problems in mathematics classrooms places extra demands on teachers in terms of extra-mathematical knowledge e.g. knowledge of the area of applications, and pedagogical knowledge. Care must also be taken to avoid overly complex situations and applications. Papers in this collection offer a practical perspective on these issues, and more. While many papers offer specific well worked out lesson type ideas, others concentrate on the teacher knowledge needed to introduce real world applications of mathematics into the classroom. We are confident that mathematics teachers who read the book will find a myriad of ways to introduce the material into their classrooms whether in ways suggested by the contributing authors or in their own ways, perhaps through mini-projects or extended projects or practical sessions or enquiry based learning. We are happy if they do! This book is written for mathematics classroom teachers and their students, mathematics teacher educators, and mathematics teachers in training at pre-service and in-service phases of their careers.

The ultimate aim of this book is to identify the conceptual tools and the instructional modalities which enable students and teachers to cross the boundary between school mathematics and real world problem solving. The book identifies, examines, and integrates seven conceptual tools, of which five are constructs (activity theory, narrative, modeling, critical mathematics education, ethnomathematics) and two are contexts (STEM and the workplace). The author develops two closely linked multiple-perspective frameworks: one for learning real world problem solving in school mathematics, which sets the foundations of learning real world problem solving in school mathematics; and one for teaching real world problem solving in school mathematics, which explores the modalities of teaching real world problem solving in school mathematics. “The book is composed as, on the one hand, a high-level theoretical scholarly work on real world problem solving in school mathematics, and, on the other hand, a set of twelve narratives which, put together, constitute a thought-provoking and moving personal and professional autobiography.” - Mogens Niss “These narratives combine aspects of Murad’s personal trajectory as an individual with those points in his professional career at which he became aware of perspectives on and approaches to mathematics education that were both significant in and of themselves, and instrumental for the specific scholarly endeavor presented in the book.” - Mogens Niss

This is a book full of ideas for introducing real world problems into mathematics classrooms and assisting teachers and students to benefit from the experience. Taken as a whole these contributions provide a rich resource for mathematics teachers and their students that is readily available in a single volume. Nowadays there is a universal emphasis on teaching for understanding, motivating students to learn mathematics and using real world problems to improve the mathematics experience of school students. However, using real world problems in mathematics classrooms places extra demands on teachers in terms of extra-mathematical knowledge e. g. knowledge of the area of applications, and pedagogical knowledge. Care must also be taken to avoid overly complex situations and applications. Papers in this collection offer a practical perspective on these issues, and more. While many papers offer specific well worked out lesson type ideas, others concentrate on the teacher knowledge needed to introduce real world applications of mathematics into the classroom. We are confident that mathematics teachers who read the book will find a myriad of ways to introduce the material into their classrooms whether in ways suggested by the contributing authors or in their own ways, perhaps through mini-projects or extended projects or practical sessions or enquiry based learning. We are happy if they do!

This edited volume explores key areas of interests in Singapore math and science education including issues on teacher education, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, teaching practices, applied learning, ecology of learning, talent grooming, culture of science and math, vocational education and STEM. It presents to policymakers and educators a clear picture of the education scene in Singapore and insights into the role of math and science education in helping the country excel beyond international studies such as PISA, the pedagogical and curricula advancements in math and science learning, and the research and practices that give Singaporean students the competitive edge in facing the uncertain and challenging landscape of the future.

This book shows how video technology can be used to inform teachers’ personal practice, and provides new data and real-world case studies not covered by any previous book on the subject. Initial chapters explore how practicing teachers can view their own recorded lessons and take steps to improve their methods, while subsequent chapters examine how pre-service and in-service teachers can use recorded lessons to improve how they teach selected concepts, or to better convey specific learning processes such as mathematical modeling and problem solving.

This book documents the journey undertaken by educators from the Mathematics and Mathematics Education (MME) Academic Group in the National Institute of Education (NIE) and Singapore schools during a Mathematical Modelling Outreach (MMO) event in June 2010 under the guidance of renowned experts in the field of mathematical modelling. The main goal of MMO was to reach out to Singapore primary and secondary schools and introduce the potentials of mathematical modelling as a platform for eliciting mathematical thinking, communication, and reasoning among students. This book contributes to the expanding literature on mathematical modelling by offering voices from the Singaporean context. It suggests how theoretical perspectives on mathematical modelling can be transformed into actual practice in schools, all within the existing infrastructure of the current Singapore mathematics curriculum. More importantly, the book provides documentary evidence on how plans put in place through MMO in 2010 have since been realised. The publication of this book is hence timely at this juncture. Not only does the book record how MMO was among the first pebbles launched into the pond, it also serves as a bridge over which educators can stand upon to view how the ripple effect had developed from the initial MMO pebble and the directions it may continue to extend. Perhaps in the process, other ripples in the teaching, learning, and research of mathematical modelling can be created. Contents:Introduction: Mathematical Modelling Outreach in Singapore (NG Kit Ee Dawn and LEE Ngan Hoe)Setting the Stage for Mathematical Modelling in Schools:Promotion of Mathematical Modelling Competencies in the Context of Modelling Projects (Gabriele KAISER and Susanne GRÜNEWALD)Problem Finding and Problem Posing for Mathematical Modelling (Gloria STILLMAN)Mathematical Modelling in Singapore Schools: A Framework for Instruction (ANG Keng Cheng)Mathematical Modelling in Australia (Vincent GEIGER)Mathematical Modelling in Japan (Toshikazu IKEDA)Fostering Mathematical Modelling in Schools:Learning through Modelling in the Primary Years (Lyn D ENGLISH)Fostering Mathematical Modelling in Secondary Schools (Gloria STILLMAN)Mathematical Modelling — An Example from an Inter-School Modelling Challenge (Raymond BROWN, Trevor REDMOND, Joanne SHEEHY and Dawn LANG)Mathematical Learning through Modelling Tasks:Learning through "Designing a Café" (YEO Kai Kow Joseph)Learning through "Plane Punctuality" (HO Weng Kin)Learning through "Mobile Phone Plan" (CHENG Lu Pien and CHUA Kwee Gek)Learning through "The Best Paper Plane" (SOON Wan Mei Amanda, CHIOK Hwee Fen and KONG May Hua Maybelline)Learning through "Designing a Tent" (HO Siew Yin)Learning through "Dream Home" (CHAN Chun Ming Eric)Learning through "The Unsinkable Titanic" (JAGUTHSING Dindyal and FOO Him Ho) Readership: Graduate students and researchers in mathematics education; mathematics educators. Keywords:Mathematical Modelling;Mathematical Modelling in Singapore;Modelling Competencies;Model-Eliciting Tasks;Modelling Research;Modelling Projects;Theoretical Perspectives on Mathematical Modelling;Modelling framework;Teacher Education in Mathematical ModellingKey Features:This book discusses the use of mathematical modelling activities for teaching and learning in Singapore classrooms, drawing upon experiences from other countriesIt provides focused discussions on the practicalities of conducting modelling activities in the classroom based on actual implementation in the Singapore context, drawing on the Singapore Mathematics Curriculum and other curriculaIt also proposes the way forward in addressing the issue of mathematical modelling for teacher education and curricula planning in the Singapore context

Mathematical Applications and Modelling is the second in the series of the yearbooks of the Association of Mathematics Educators in Singapore. The book is unique as it addresses a focused theme on mathematics education. The objective is to illustrate the diversity within the theme and present research that translates into classroom pedagogies.The book, comprising of 17 chapters, illuminates how application and modelling tasks may help develop the capacity of students to use mathematics in their present and future lives. Several renowned international researchers in the field of mathematical modelling have published their work in the book. The chapters are comprehensive and laden with evidence-based examples for both mathematics educators and classroom teachers. The book is an invaluable contribution towards the emerging field of research in mathematical applications and modelling. It is a must-read for graduate research students and mathematics educators.