Understanding Mathematics

The concept of understanding in mathematics with regard to mathematics education is considered in this volume. The main problem for mathematics teachers being how to facilitate their students' understanding of the mathematics being taught. In combining elements of maths, philosophy, logic, linguistics and the psychology of maths education from her own and European research, Dr Sierpinska considers the contributions of the social and cultural contexts to understanding. The outcome is an insight into both mathematics and understanding.

Mathematics is essential to the work of scientists, engineers, and a whole host of other professions, but it can be difficult for non-mathematicians to master. Keith Gregson's near-painless tour of mathematics uses ample examples from the world around us and worked problems to teach the topics that non-mathematicians often struggle with. Gregson explains the fundamentals behind mathematical relationships and working with equations and teaches readers how to craft estimates. Using examples from the environmental and life sciences, individual chapters cover powers and logarithms, calculus, probability and statistics, and matrix algebra. Gregson also explains how to solve iterative problems, laying the groundwork to go from solving simple equations to calculating answers to real-world problems. Featuring end-of-chapter exercises and suggestions for further reading, this succinct account is a great resource for students of biological or environmental sciences as well as professionals seeking to brush up on basic skills.

Without a basic understanding of maths, students of any science discipline are ill-equipped to tackle new problems or to apply themselves to novel situations. In this book, Keith Gregson covers a few essential topics that will help encourage an understanding of mathematics so that the student can build on their understanding and apply it to their own scientific discipline

This textbook covers in one volume all topics required in the pure mathematics section of single subject A-Level Mathematics syllabuses in the UK, as well as a significant part of the work required by those studying for Further Mathematics and for A-Level

Understanding Mathematics is a carefully written series of mathematics to help students encourage the study of mathematics in the best interactive form. It contains ample practice material, attractive illustrations and real-life examples for the students to relate the topics with their everyday life. Special care has been taken while teaching topics like geometry and probability to the students. Keeping in mind the development status and comprehension level of students, the text has been presented in a well graded manner.

Studies of teachers in the U.S. often document insufficient subject matter knowledge in mathematics. Yet, these studies give few examples of the knowledge teachers need to support teaching, particularly the kind of teaching demanded by recent reforms in mathematics education. Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics describes the nature and development of the knowledge that elementary teachers need to become accomplished mathematics teachers, and suggests why such knowledge seems more common in China than in the United States, despite the fact that Chinese teachers have less formal education than their U.S. counterparts. The anniversary edition of this bestselling volume includes the original studies that compare U.S and Chinese elementary school teachers’ mathematical understanding and offers a powerful framework for grasping the mathematical content necessary to understand and develop the thinking of school children. Highlighting notable changes in the field and the author’s work, this new edition includes an updated preface, introduction, and key journal articles that frame and contextualize this seminal work.

What sorts of mathematics competencies must teachers have in order to teach the discipline well? This book offers a novel take on the question. Most research is focused on explicit knowledge–that is, on the sorts of insights that might be specified, catalogued, taught, and tested. In contrast, this book focuses on the tacit dimensions of teachers’ mathematics knowledge that precede and enable their competencies with formal mathematics. It highlights the complexity of this knowledge and offers strategies to uncover it, analyze it, and re-synthesize it in ways that will make it more available for teaching. Emerging from 10 years of collaborative inquiry with practicing teachers, it is simultaneously informed by the most recent research and anchored to the realities of teachers’ lives in classrooms.

Give math students the connections between what they learn and how they do math—and suddenly math makes sense If your secondary-school students are fearful of or frustrated by math, it’s time for a new approach. When you teach concepts rather than rote processes, you show students math’s essential elegance, as well as its practicality—and help them discover their own natural mathematical abilities. This book is a road map to retooling how you teach math in a deep, clear, and meaningful way —through a conceptual lens—helping students achieve higher-order thinking skills. Jennifer Wathall shows you how to plan units, engage students, assess understanding, incorporate technology, and even guides you through an ideal concept-based classroom. Practical tools include: Examples from arithmetic to calculus Inquiry tasks, unit planners, templates, and activities Sample assessments with examples of student work Vignettes from international educators A dedicated companion website with additional resources, including a study guide, templates, exemplars, discussion questions, and other professional development activities. Everyone has the power to understand math. By extending Erickson and Lanning’s work on Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction specifically to math, this book helps students achieve the deep understanding and skills called for by global standards and be prepared for the 21st century workplace. "Jennifer Wathall’s book is one of the most forward thinking mathematics resources on the market. While highlighting the essential tenets of Concept-Based Curriculum design, her accessible explanations and clear examples show how to move students to deeper conceptual understandings. This book ignites the mathematical mind!" — Lois A. Lanning, Author of Designing Concept-based Curriculum for English-Language Arts, K-12 "Wathall is a master at covering all the bases here; this book is bursting with engaging assessment examples, discussion questions, research, and resources that apply specifically to mathematical topics. Any math teacher or coach would be hard-pressed to read it and not come away with scores of ideas, assessments, and lessons that she could use instantly in the classroom. As an IB Workshop Leader and instructional coach, I want this book handy on a nearby shelf for regular referral – it′s a boon to any educator who wants to bring math to life for students." — Alexis Wiggins, Instructional Coach, IB Workshop Leader and Consultant