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The Absence of Discrete Mathematics in Primary and Secondary Education in the United States… and Why that Is Counterproductive

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Teaching and Learning Discrete Mathematics Worldwide: Curriculum and Research

Part of the book series: ICME-13 Monographs ((ICME13Mo))

Abstract

This chapter describes the opportunity that discrete mathematics provides for supporting reasoning , problem solving , and systematic thinking in the school mathematics curriculum and illustrates this opportunity by providing a set of discrete mathematics problems that begin “Find all… .” It also provides a year-by-year model for how discrete mathematics can be included in the primary and secondary curriculum . Finally, the article describes some of the possible reasons why discrete mathematics was not included in the new national mathematics standards in the U.S., and why we consider these reasons misguided, in light of the opportunities provided when discrete mathematics is part of the curriculum.

In the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff29i_yPoZ0 the author discusses many of the issues raised in this article.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A video I prepared that discusses the discrete math topics that all students should be exposed to by the time they complete secondary school is also posted on YouTube.

References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Joseph G. Rosenstein

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  1. Joseph G. Rosenstein
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Correspondence to Joseph G. Rosenstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mathematics Department, Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

    Eric W. Hart

  2. Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    James Sandefur

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Rosenstein, J.G. (2018). The Absence of Discrete Mathematics in Primary and Secondary Education in the United States… and Why that Is Counterproductive. In: Hart, E., Sandefur, J. (eds) Teaching and Learning Discrete Mathematics Worldwide: Curriculum and Research. ICME-13 Monographs. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70308-4_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70308-4_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70307-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70308-4

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