NCTM Standards

Connections is one of the process standards highlighted in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. The process standard refers not only to mathematics connections across disciplines, as featured in this publication, but also to mathematics connections between one concept and another (ratio and slope, for example) and between one topic and another (algebra and geometry, for instance). To see the specific expectations of the standard, go to the NCTM document.

In this publication, we address NCTM's admonition to foster integrated units of study because "school mathematics experiences at all levels should include opportunities to learn about mathematics by working on problems arising in contexts outside of mathematics" (NCTM, 2000, pp. 65-66). In referring directly to middle-grades students, the NCTM document observes, "Thinking mathematically involves looking for connections, and making connections builds mathematical understanding" (p. 274). It becomes, then, the teacher's role to select problems that connect mathematical ideas across the curriculum. Knowing how difficult it can be to find materials that demonstrate how mathematics applies to other disciplines, we offer here resources that aim to do just that. We hope you will find here a scenario that will connect the mathematics you are teaching to a real-world context that will intrigue and motivate your students.

Reference

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

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Copyright October 2006 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.