Expressing Mathematics

by Carl Swenson, Seattle University.

Articulation is clear expression. The following items need to be clearly expressed to the public (including teachers, curriculum developers, counselors, etc.) by the mathematics community:

• The most important ability in mathematics is the ability to communicate mathematical ideas.
• The world has changed, and the world is changing.
• Technology is changing how we do mathematics.
• Mathematics is not arithmetic.
• There is no best way to teach mathematics; people learn mathematics in individualistic ways.
• Conceptual understanding is more valuable than rote symbol manipulation, no matter if that manipulation is done by hand, by calculator, or by computer.
• Application-driven problem solving and open-ended problems with multiple solutions are necessary in the mathematics curriculum at all levels.