Today was our last input for the module, Discovering Maths. At the beginning of the module my understanding of mathematics was just the basic sums and problem solving skills that I was taught in primary school, however this module has taught me so much more!
From the tuition in Discovering Maths, I have discovered that maths really is the foundation of most aspects in life. I have truly explored the fundamental properties of mathematics and just how important they to almost every life situation in which we encounter. Liping Ma (2010) supports the idea of the importance of the fundamental principals of mathematics, and states that the four three fundamentals of mathematics are (Inter) connectedness, multiple perspectives, basic ideas and principles and longitudinal coherence. Curriculum for Excellence (undated) further highlights the importance of teaching the fundamental principals of mathematics from a young age. Curriculum for Excellence (undated) says that the fundamentals of mathematics are extremely important and useful when it comes to everyday life, and so, it is important that students are introduced to these principals from a very young age.
From studying this modules, I have come to realise that mathematics is a subject that relates to almost every situation and problem that we face in the world. Maths plays a huge part in a range of different aspects in the world, music being one. Sangster, p (2018) further develops the idea of maths playing a huge part music and uses a wide range of examples to back this statement up, including: rhythms and time signatures.
Overall, I feel that this module has had a huge influence on my developing of mathematics and will have a positive impact on how i choose to teach the subject. I really enjoyed this module as it has influenced me to dig deeper in mathematics and explore different uses and concepts of maths. Discovering maths has taught me that there is mathematics in almost every situation, thus highlighting the importance of being able to pass on my knowledge to further, upcoming, students.
References
Curriculum for Excellence (undated) Curriculum for Excellence: Mathematics, Principals and Practice , Available at: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/mathematics-pp.doc (Accessed: 24th October 2018).
Ma, L., (2010) Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics (Anniversary Ed.) New York: Routledge.
Sangster, P. (2018) Discovering Maths: Music and Mathematics [MA2 Discovering Maths Lecture] ED21006: Discovering Maths. University of Dundee
