How can standard mathematics major courses connect back to high school topics in a way that enriches deeper understanding of both? And how might doing this produce more motivated new teachers as well as more engaged mathematics students? The MAA META Math project (the
Mathematical
Education of
Teachers as an
Application of Undergraduate
Mathematics) addresses these connections by creating curriculum material for math major courses that treat applications to “high school content” as just as valuable as applications to business or STEM disciplines. The use of these materials will, in turn, lift the Mathematical Knowledge of Teachers to the same level of importance of other application areas (such as business or STEM fields) for mathematics within and throughout the standard mathematics curriculum.
The initial subject areas for the META Math lessons are:
- Abstract Algebra
- Single Variable Calculus
- Discrete Mathematics
- Statistics
META Math will add to the research knowledge base by assessing college students’ understanding of school mathematics from an advanced perspective.The project enhances student understanding of the vertical connections from school mathematics through advanced undergraduate mathematics among all mathematics undergraduates. All undergraduates, not just future teachers, will benefit from the deep mathematical understanding fostered by instructors using META Math modules.
The MAA META Math project is supported by a grant (DUE-1726624) from the National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the views of the MAA or the National Science Foundation.