Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The importance of learning mathematics
Mathematics surround us
Importance of math in life
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The importance of learning mathematics
Today, you will have done a mathematical calculation. You might not have realised it, but you did. Whether it was how many more minutes in bed you could have before you had to get up, or whether it was how much water to put in the kettle for your morning cup of coffee. Mathematics is a fundamental language that everyone needs to be able to speak in order to survive today: nowhere in life can it be avoided; without maths, we would be lost: living in chaos. Because of this, maths should play a larger part in the Scottish secondary curriculum, up until the point where pupils have the opportunity to leave school. This would ensure that the future generations must be equipped with the essential skills required to function in contemporary society, based upon mathematics.
Studying mathematics gives students, not only knowledge about formulas and skills such as addition, but much more than that. Math teaches students how to think logically. Problem solving skills; the methodical, analytical, and through mind; the structured approach to finding solutions – these are all skills learnt which allow humans to face situations in a tactical, and more often than not, successful, way. The deductive logic and emotionless thinking that mathematics develops can be used in any way, in any situation. Your mind does not follow formulae, or work in numbers. It’s not a computer. That is the difference. It works out trajectories, volumes, probabilities and risks approximately. It does everything roughly, with an ‘ish’ answer result. Decisions are made as an educated guess, no numbers, and nothing written down.
The one requirement for successful decision making is logic. You can way up the pros, the cons, the possibilities, and the likelihoods. Choosing t...
... middle of paper ...
...ess.com/2011/04/22/creative-thinking-vs-logical-thinking/
http://designtaxi.com/article/101816/The-War-Of-Logic-VS-Creativity/
http://designtaxi.com/article/101816/The-War-Of-Logic-VS-Creativity/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7277162.Mr_Sivapalan_resource_person
http://ajot.aotapress.net/content/57/2/139.full.pdf
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/jun/14/maths-skills-lacking-school-leavers
http://www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/2011/05/poor-standards-of-english-and-maths-among-school-leavers-could-hinder-growth-cbi-edi/
http://www.conservativehome.com/localgovernment/2013/09/raising-standards-for-school-leavers-in-english-and-maths-is-crucial.html
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/studyskills/thinking/creative.asp
http://www.mrbartonmaths.com/whatuse.htm
http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/use-mathematics-everyday-life-14225.html
Math is everywhere when most people first think of math or the word “Algebra,” they don’t get too excited. Many people say “Math sucks” or , “When are we ever going to use it in our lives.” The fact is math will be used in our lives quite frequently. For example, if we go watch a softball game all it is, is one giant math problem. Softball math can be used in many
I also learned that mathematics was more than merely an intellectual activity: it was a necessary tool for getting a grip on all sorts of problems in science and engineering. Without mathematics there is no progress. However, mathematics could also show its nasty face during periods in which problems that seemed so simple at first sight refused to be solved for a long time. Every math student will recognize these periods of frustration and helplessness.
An 'economic cost-benefit analysis' approach to reasoning sees actions favoured and chosen if the benefit outweighs the cost. Here, the benefits and costs are in the form of economic benefits and costs, such as, monetary loss or profit. One who is motivated by such an approach will deem a course of action preferable if doing so results in an economic profit. Conversely, actions will be avoided if they result in an economic loss (Kelman 1981).
Mathematics is everywhere we look, so many things we encounter in our everyday lives have some form of mathematics involved. Mathematics the language of understanding the natural world (Tony Chan, 2009) and is useful to understand the world around us. The Oxford Dictionary defines mathematics as ‘the science of space, number, quantity, and arrangement, whose methods, involve logical reasoning and use of symbolic notation, and which includes geometry, arithmetic, algebra, and analysis of mathematical operations or calculations (Soanes et al, Concise Oxford Dictionary,
...ett, S. (2008) . Young children’s access to powerful mathematical ideas, in English, Lyn D (ed), Handbook of international research in mathematics education, 2nd edn, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 75-108.
Mathematics is part of our everyday life. Things you would not expect to involve math
Ward (2005) explores writing and reading as the major literary mediums for learning mathematics, in order for students to be well equipped for things they may see in the real world. The most recent trends in education have teachers and curriculum writers stressed about finding new ways to tie in current events and real-world situations to the subjects being taught in the classroom. Wohlhuter & Quintero (2003) discuss how simply “listening” to mathematics in the classroom has no effect on success in student academics. It’s important to implement mathematical literacy at a very young age. A case study in the article by authors Wohlhuter & Quintero explores a program where mathematics and literacy were implemented together for children all the way through eight years of age. Preservice teachers entered a one week program where lessons were taught to them as if they were teaching the age group it was directed towards. When asked for a definition of mathematics, preservice teachers gave answers such as: something related to numbers, calculations, and estimations. However, no one emphasized how math is in fact extremely dependable on problem-solving, explanations, and logic. All these things have literacy already incorporated into them. According to Wohlhuter and Quintero (2003), the major takeaways from this program, when tested, were that “sorting blocks, dividing a candy bar equally, drawing pictures, or reading cereal boxes, young children are experienced mathematicians, readers, and writers when they enter kindergarten.” These skills are in fact what they need to succeed in the real-world. These strategies have shown to lead to higher success rates for students even after they graduate
The following is a decision-making model that I have used to arrive at a decision.
Skemp, R (2002). Mathematics in the Primary School. 2nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis .
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.
The prominence of numeracy is extremely evident in daily life and as teachers it is important to provide quality assistance to students with regards to the development of a child's numeracy skills. High-level numeracy ability does not exclusively signify an extensive view of complex mathematics, its meaning refers to using constructive mathematical ideas to “...make sense of the world.” (NSW Government, 2011). A high-level of numeracy is evident in our abilities to effectively draw upon mathematical ideas and critically evaluate it's use in real-life situations, such as finances, time management, building construction and food preparation, just to name a few (NSW Government, 2011). Effective teachings of numeracy in the 21st century has become a major topic of debate in recent years. The debate usually streams from parents desires for their child to succeed in school and not fall behind. Regardless of socio-economic background, parents want success for their children to prepare them for life in society and work (Groundwater-Smith, 2009). A student who only presents an extremely basic understanding of numeracy, such as small number counting and limited spatial and time awareness, is at risk of falling behind in the increasingly competitive and technologically focused job market of the 21st Century (Huetinck & Munshin, 2008). In the last decade, the Australian curriculum has witness an influx of new digital tools to assist mathematical teaching and learning. The common calculator, which is becoming increasing cheap and readily available, and its usage within the primary school curriculum is often put at the forefront of this debate (Groves, 1994). The argument against the usage of the calculator suggests that it makes students lazy ...
Devlin believes that mathematics has four faces 1) Mathematics is a way to improve thinking as problem solving. 2) Mathematics is a way of knowing. 3) Mathematics is a way to improve creative medium. 4) Mathematics is applications. (Mann, 2005). Because mathematics has very important role in our life, teaching math in basic education is as important as any other subjects. Students should study math to help them how to solve problems and meet the practical needs such as collect, count, and process the data. Mathematics, moreover, is required students to be capable of following and understanding the future. It also helps students to be able to think creativity, logically, and critically (Happy & Listyani, 2011,
Making decisions is an important part of our everyday life. Decisions define actions and lead to the achievement of goals. However, these depend on the effectiveness of the decision-making process. An effective decision is free from biases, uncertainties, and is deeply dependent on information and critical thinking. Poor decisions lead to the inability to achieve set objectives and could lead to losses, if finance is a factor. Therefore, it is important to contemplate about quality and ways to achieve it in decision-making, which is the focus of this paper. The purpose is to look into the needs of decision-making, including what one should do and what one should not do.
Effective decision making involves the ability to identify consistently and select the best choice among multiple options. This is true both personally and professionally. For the decision making process one may use a decision making model. A decision making mo...
Decision making is one of the most important aspects in life and work because of its strong link to success and effectiveness. Actually, successful people achieve their goals in life and work through effective and efficient decision making. The decision making process is usually guided by an individual’s beliefs, values, and attitudes as well concepts. While a person can use various concepts in making decisions, they should be very careful to select a concept that is effective and contributes to huge success. Nonetheless, these concepts exist to help an individual become a better decision maker in the world around him/her.