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German mathematician
19th century math began to become abstract especially in terms of algebra. Carl Friedrich Gauss a German mathematician made contributions to functions, geometry and gave proofs to theorems of algebra. -
Math Association of America Created
MAA is a group of professionals that focuses on how math is taught and accessed while students are in undergrad. It is composed of teachers who teach in high schools/college, grad & undergrad students, mathematicians, and many other professions. The mission of MAA is to advance the mathematical science and to educate people on effective curriculum and assessments at all levels (MAA, 2016). -
Soviet Union
Sputnik was launched on Oct 4th and was the first (artificial) satellite. As stated by the NASA government it, "ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race" (NASA, 2007). This development not only brought advanced but further sparked the interest of science all together. -
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Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) was established in 1958 by a grant from the NSF to the education committee of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). By the 60’s BSCS had created countless amounts of science textbooks for high school curriculum (BSCS, 2016). BSCS was one of the first groups to introduce students as being active participants in the world of investigating Science (BSCS, 2016). -
NDEA
Congress approved the National Defense Education Act in response to the launching of Sputnik. This legislation not only provided funding to improve schools but additionally was a supporter of post-secondary education. Grant money was also allocated to fund science and math programs in public schools. -
NAEP
National Assessment of Education Progress began testing students on their knowledge of science. State level reporting of science knowledge however didn't happen until 1996. -
New Math
“New math” ushered in a new way of thinking about math and switched from memorization to inquiry & discovery. “New math” included algebra, algebraic inequalities and bases. The name became popular shortly after Sputnik -
Back To Basics Math Movement
In the 1970’s political officials who wanted to eliminate social issues from classrooms composed a new movement called “Back to Basics”. This plan made classroom expel the majority of the classroom day to history, English, and math. This back to basics plan also developed remedial plans for math. Author Janice Weiss also states that the back-to-basics movements objective was to have students obtain, “mastery of the minimum knowledge considered necessary for graduation” (Weiss, 2005). -
Math's Poor Performance
1980’s Math Education
Poor performance was the highlight of the 1980’s and America was determined to find a better way to educate students. When the National Commission of Excellence in Education reported that education was going downhill, the American people began to realize that education was the backbone of the Nation and without it all else would fail. Education institutions started advocating for a change in teacher education and how the profession was setup as a whole. (Ravitch, 1990). -
Reagan Administration
Reagan administration cuts funding for NSF , thus getting rid of various science programs and science curriculum development (National Science Foundation, 2016). -
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
PAEMST was Reagan’s way of restoring the damage he did in prior cuts to NSF. This award program went to the nations highest teachers of math/science and awarded them 10,000. So far more than 4,700 teachers have been recognized for their hard work and superb efforts. -
SEPUP
SEPUP develops a science education program to further motivate science interest by creating a hand on curriculum. This curriculum explored society issues such as water pollution and the safety of food (Science Education for Public Understanding Program, 2016). -
Science Standards
National Research Council creates a National Science Education Standards for all schools to follow. These standards not only promoted the idea that science has many facets but gave teachers a set of goals in regards to teaching science (NAP, 2016). -
Richard Riley
Richard Riley develops the National Commission on Math and Science teaching for the 21st century is created to improve how math science is taught. First introduced the theory that if there were monetary incentive for teaching science then more teachers would be more willing to teach it (The National Commission on Mathematics and Science, 2000). -
NCLB affect on Math
In 2002 President George Bush enacted the No Child Left Behind Law. This law began the first of era where schools would be held accountable for the education of students. This law requires that all students meet the academic level of proficiency and students are tested annually in reading and math from 3rd-8th grade (Education Week, 2005).