Plane Geometry - Bruce E. Shapiro

6 SECTION 2. NCTM3. To guide in the development of curriculum frameworks, assessments,and instruction; and4. To stimulate discussion at all levels on how best to help students learnmath.It recommendations included sixprinciples for primary and secondarymathematics education anda set of content standards for eachsubject area. Recommended contentis discussed in the next section.The six principles of schoolmathematics recommended by theNCTM were Equity, Curriculum,Teaching, Learning, Assessment,and TechnologyEquity. The report challengesthe stereotype that only somestudents are capable of learningmathematics, and compares it tothe pervasive belief that everyoneshould learn to read and write inEnglish. This bias leads to low expectations for many students, especiallyamong students who live in poverty, are non-native English speakers, havedisabilities, or are female, among other groups. The Equity Principle demandsthat high expectations be communicated in words and deeds to allstudents with instructional programs that are interesting to students andhelp them see the importance of mathematical study.Curriculum. A curriculum is more than a collection of activities: it mustbe coherent, focused on important mathematics, and well articulated acrossthe grades. Lessons should be planned so that fundamental ideas form anintegrated whole.Teaching. Effective mathematics teaching requires understanding whatstudents know and need to learn and then challenging and supporting themto learn it well. Effective teaching requires knowing and understandingmathematics, students as learners, and pedagogical strategies. Teachersneed to understand the “big ideas” in math and present them as a coherent« CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Revised: 18 Nov 2012