The challenges experienced by schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic led to numerous changes and forced teachers to rethink the way teachers use technology, both to communicate with students and to support their mathematics learning. To illustrate these changes in curriculum, teaching, and assessment, the author uses the topic of rational…

The Mathematics Department at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) (New York) has been actively involved since 1988 in a serious and successful program to improve instruction, understanding, and retention for women and minority students in calculus courses. One result of this work has been students creating calculus animations using…

Lists 10 curriculum innovations and discusses reasons why they are not used extensively today. Reviews current curricular trends in career, environmental, ethnic, bicultural/bilingual, metric/calculator, sex, nonsexist, law-related, and consumer education. Suggests communication, lifelong learning, international cooperation, and values will have…

One of the most hotly contested issues in mathematics education today is the use of calculators in elementary schools. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has gone on record recommending the use of calculators in the earliest grades. NCTM's recommendation that calculators be introduced under the guidance of skilled teachers is…

As momentum for change in U.S. education continues to grow, questions about the nature and goals of mathematics education take on increasing urgency. This report proposes a framework for reform of school mathematics mainly through reshaping of the mathematics curriculum. Chapters included are: (1) "A Rationale for Change," describing changing…

This report contains recommendations on needed changes (additions, deletions, and increased/decreased emphases) in elementary and middle school mathematics curricula and a statement of more general concerns about the secondary school mathematics curriculum. Separate sections are devoted to: (1) elementary and middle school mathematics; (2)…

Notes some of the concerns about calculus education that were expressed at a recent conference of the National Academy of Sciences. Lists problems with unwieldy textbooks, poor teaching, large classes, and low standards. Suggests that the increasing use of computers and advanced calculators can help reform calculus instruction. (TW)

This document summarizes "Mathematics Counts," the report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Teaching of Mathematics in Schools in Great Britain, chaired by Dr. W. H. Cockcroft. It provides a digest of the report, paralleling the following chapters: (1) why teach mathematics? (2) the mathematical needs of adult life, (3) the…