Step: New Math Track

The mathematics faculty and the School of Education have traditionally maintained a set of courses that students who wish to become certified to teach mathematics at the secondary level are expected to complete in order to fulfill the overall major requirements. This set of courses was provided to advisors and was enforced through the advising process.

During the past year, VCU was awarded a STEP grant to foster closer formal collaboration between Humanities and Sciences and Education faculty. With support form this grant, faculty from VCU's mathematics and mathematics education program (including Reuben Farley, Bill Haver, Aimee Ellington and Ena Gross); other VCU Humanities and Sciences and Education faculty (including STEP PI Diane Simon); faculty and administrators from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College; and secondary school faculty have met regularly to discuss components of our program. It was agreed that 1) we should formalize a track within the Mathematical Sciences major to prepare future secondary teachers; and 2) review Virginia's Standards of Learning, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics guidelines and the recommendations of the National Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (The Mathematical Education of Teachers) concerning the coursework that should be completed by all future secondary school teachers.

The proposed new (formal) track is a direct result of the STEP project and the proposed track meets all of these state and national guidelines. The recommendations include a study of single variable and multivariable calculus, linear algebra, mathematical structures, geometry, history of mathematics, mathematical modeling and advanced calculus. They also call for developing student computer and technology statistics, and written and oral communication abilities and for a culminating independent study project. In addition the MET report recommends that:

Prospective high school teachers of mathematics should be required to complete the equivalent of an undergraduate major in mathematics, that includes a 6-hour capstone course connecting their college mathematics courses with high school mathematics.

The overall mathematical science major was revised two years ago to further emphasize many of these characterstics. With these changes in place, it was determined that the previous informal track met all of the recommendations with the following exceptions. The exceptions and proposed revisions are noted:

The previous informal track met a number of the expectations by including CSC 554 (Using Computers in the Teaching of Mathematics). With the computer science program leaving the college, this course has not been offered in recent years and was informally replaced by a topics course. It is proposed that a new course MATH 554 be added to the course offerings and be included in the track.
The previous (informal) track did not contain the recommended two-course sequence connecting high school math with the college curriculum. MATH 505, Modern Geometry, provides the connection in the are of geometry. It is proposed to provide the recommended sequence by adding MATH 504, Functions and Algebraic Structures. The new course will provide the recommended connections for the remainder of the high school curriculum.

Making the track formal will not require any additional resources. In a very small way it will simplify administration by making the track requirements more readily available to prospective majors, current majors and advisors.