Mathematics Education - MS
Graduates can explain, evaluate, and apply important issues, trends, theories, paradigms of research, and research findings in the field of mathematics education, as well as their implications for the teaching and learning of mathematics in the public schools, mathematics teacher development, and participation in mathematics education scholarship.
Graduates demonstrate understanding of research methods in mathematics education by showing they can a) locate an interesting and important problem; b) conduct a literature review to situate the problem; c) develop a conceptual framework; d) establish focused research questions; e) choose and implement appropriate methods for collecting and analyzing data; f) address issues of research quality such as validity, reliability, and significance; and g) effectively communicate their work both orally and in writing. Graduates understand central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline of mathematics as well as core representations, canonical examples, and alternative algorithms germane to teaching school mathematics. Graduates are able to analyze topics from school mathematics in the context of the literature on students' mathematical thinking, meaningfully apply research on teaching and learning mathematics in their teaching, and use scholarly inquiry as a lens to reflect on that teaching.