Mathematics is different from some other disciplines such as art and music in that it builds upon itself. It has traditionally been based on a series of axioms and theorems derived from these axioms, from which more theorems can be derived. Therefore, when an essay asks us to eliminate a concept fundamental to mathematics, it is difficult to make a choice since each concept has its merits and is necessary for understanding concepts that build upon it. This essay, although not feasible to implement in the real world, accomplishes the goals of a Writing in Mathematics seminar, which are to encourage students to think creatively about mathematics, increase the students’ skills in writing effective arguments, and show the students that there is far more to mathematics than what was taught in high school.
Most of us arrived to this writing seminar in mathematics after we had been taught the dry, routine mathematics typically taught in high schools throughout the country, which does not leave much room for creativity. This situation is compounded by the effects of the “No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, [which puts] teachers under even more pressure to teach to the test. Discouraging risk taking…dampens the development of mathematical creativity” (Mann, 2006). This seminar showed us that there is room for creativity in mathematics and dispelled the notions embedded into our brains by thirteen years of rigid mathematics. By forcing us to eliminate a key concept in mathematics, we were compelled to find creative solutions to the problems that ensue from taking such action. In my essay, for example, I decided to abolish the triangle. This would thereby endanger trigonometry, but I theorized that a circular trigonometry could be u...
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...t essay in the beginning of this seminar to show that we have at least a decent understanding of the English language, we know that we are capable of writing the essay. Although this assignment could be more challenging, this is not a major issue because it is quite challenging as it stands.
This assignment does accomplish the goals of this seminar, although it could challenge us more. While the assignment does not make an explicit effort to expose students to the eclectic topics that make up mathematics beyond the standard high school curriculum, it would be quite difficult to design an essay that studies both the foundations and advanced, creative aspects of mathematics. Instead, the readings assigned for discussion in the seminar accomplish this last goal. Even though a Writing in Mathematics seminar does not build on itself, it does need to meet the goals.
The essay is written in a very critical style where the reader will feel like they have been wast...
The second part of this memo contains a rhetorical analysis of a journal article written by Linda Darling-Hammond. Interview The following information was conducted in an interview with Diana Regalado De Santiago, who works at Montwood High School as a mathematics teacher. In the interview, Regalado De Santiago discusses how presenting material to her students in a manner where the student actually learns is a pivotal form of communication in the field (Personal Communication, September 8, 2016).
When a teacher from Tryhard high school decides to voice her/he’s distaste about the success of the students from the previous year in mathematics, a few students decide to take matters into their own hand. Using the scores of the previous years they started to analyses the documents and see if the teacher was wrong.
Without delay, I begin my in-depth look into the requirements of this study and what was expected of me, as an English 111 student. To successively complete these assignments, I would need to be focused on the process of such writing assignments. Along with the instructor’s ideas that our writing would be done in such different ways it will eventually consume every waking moment of my time and become top priority for the next four months.
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.
Cerjak ,The English Journal, Vol. 76, No. 5 (Sep., 1987), pp. 55-57 Published by: National Council of Teachers of English
Over the course of these past few weeks we have learned all sorts of math that we will utilize in our everyday lives. They have all been very interesting; my favorite subjects were learning about how voting works and how to calculate owning a home. For our final math project in our math modeling class, we had to choose a topic that interested us yet had something to do with mathematics. For this presentation, I decided to research the history of math and art and how the two have been used together to create amazing artwork.
However, one must remember that art is by no means the same as mathematics. “It employs virtually none of the resources implicit in the term pure mathematics.” Many people object that art has nothing to do with mathematics; that mathematics is unemotional and injurious to art, which is purely a matter of feeling. In The Introduction to the Visual Mind: Art and Mathematics, Max Bill refutes this argument by stati...
Works Cited Curzan, Anne and Adams, Michael. How English Works: A Linguistic Introduction. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. Crystal, David. The English Language: A Guided Tour of the Language.
In this essay, I'm going to introduce to the reader a topic not touched a
It is not only in my own writing that my awareness of math has been heightened. While reading articles for classes, on news websites, or blogs, I find myself paying more attention to the flow of the author’s argument. We’ve learned that in proof writing it is important to be clear, concise, and rigorous and the same applies to an argument within a paper. I’ve come to realize that if an author is trying to convince me of their point, then they also need to show me why their point is true or important. In this way, I’ve become more critical of an author’s argument; rather than just believing everything that they write, I more closely evaluate the progression o...
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.
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,
Throughout out this semester, I’ve had the opportunity to gain a better understanding when it comes to teaching Mathematics in the classroom. During the course of this semester, EDEL 440 has showed my classmates and myself the appropriate ways mathematics can be taught in an elementary classroom and how the students in the classroom may retrieve the information. During my years of school, mathematics has been my favorite subject. Over the years, math has challenged me on so many different levels. Having the opportunity to see the appropriate ways math should be taught in an Elementary classroom has giving me a
The abstractions can be anything from strings of numbers to geometric figures to sets of equations. In deriving, for instance, an expression for the change in the surface area of any regular solid as its volume approaches zero, mathematicians have no interest in any correspondence between geometric solids and physical objects in the real world. A central line of investigation in theoretical mathematics is identifying in each field of study a small set of basic ideas and rules from which all other interesting ideas and rules in that field can be logically deduced. Mathematicians are particularly pleased when previously unrelated parts of mathematics are found to be derivable from one another, or from some more general theory. Part of the sense of beauty that many people have perceived in mathematics lies not in finding the greatest richness or complexity but on the contrary, in finding the greatest economy and simplicity of representation and proof.