Science and Mathematics Education Commons^™

Proof, Proving And Mathematics Curriculum, Thomas Varghese

Transformations

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, a US based teachers association, strongly encourages teachers to make proof and reasoning an integral part of student mathematics. However, the literature shows that, far from being integral, proving remains compartmentalized within the North American school curriculum and is restricted to a specific mathematical domain. Consequently, students suffer in their understandings and are ill prepared for the rigorous mathematical proving that many of them will encounter later at the postsecondary level. The literature suggests that compartmentalization is mainly due to teacher’s lack of experience in proof and proving and their subsequent inability to …