Cook Topic Proposal
Auston Cook
Professor Rybicka
ENG 102
8 February 2015
Proposal
Topic: The most famous of all questions that all math teachers hear are: When will I ever use this? Why is this important? Why do I need to be learning this? What we do with math makes us good thinkers, problem solvers, and allows us to be able to break down anything to the simplest of forms.
As a math major, with hopes to become a math professor, I know this question will constantly be floating in the heads of all my future students. As a teacher, I will need to be prepared to answer all the questions that rise about in my class. I want to wow my students. When they ask this questions, I want to help them understand all that math has to offer, and what they can take away from these courses that they are mandated to take.
Not only are these important questions for math teachers to know how to answer, but they are questions that should not be unanswered to students. If it is left with no answer then students will continue to dislike math thinking it is irrelevant to their lives. This paper will be directed to students, but also teachers who are looking for ways to better answer these questions. Math allows students to train their brains for what is to come in the real world. It is our job as teachers to not just show them problems to solve, but help them understand these problems.
The number one key question my research will answer is “Why is math important?” If you are not becoming an engineer or a computer software programmer then why is it necessary to learn math? How is relevant to a writer, dancer, chef, doctor, or teacher?
The most important sources will come from database searches. I have found a couple so far. An important article I came across was “What is Mathematical Thinking and Why is it Important?” by Kaye Stacey. This articles goes through the type of thinking math allows students to do, and how that thinking style is important outside of the math world. Some other sources include a
Professor Rybicka
ENG 102
8 February 2015
Proposal
Topic: The most famous of all questions that all math teachers hear are: When will I ever use this? Why is this important? Why do I need to be learning this? What we do with math makes us good thinkers, problem solvers, and allows us to be able to break down anything to the simplest of forms.
As a math major, with hopes to become a math professor, I know this question will constantly be floating in the heads of all my future students. As a teacher, I will need to be prepared to answer all the questions that rise about in my class. I want to wow my students. When they ask this questions, I want to help them understand all that math has to offer, and what they can take away from these courses that they are mandated to take.
Not only are these important questions for math teachers to know how to answer, but they are questions that should not be unanswered to students. If it is left with no answer then students will continue to dislike math thinking it is irrelevant to their lives. This paper will be directed to students, but also teachers who are looking for ways to better answer these questions. Math allows students to train their brains for what is to come in the real world. It is our job as teachers to not just show them problems to solve, but help them understand these problems.
The number one key question my research will answer is “Why is math important?” If you are not becoming an engineer or a computer software programmer then why is it necessary to learn math? How is relevant to a writer, dancer, chef, doctor, or teacher?
The most important sources will come from database searches. I have found a couple so far. An important article I came across was “What is Mathematical Thinking and Why is it Important?” by Kaye Stacey. This articles goes through the type of thinking math allows students to do, and how that thinking style is important outside of the math world. Some other sources include a