4-Part Plan Seeks to Fix Mathematics Education

Math is a stumbling block for many students, and instruction may be part of the reason why. Introductory math courses that serve as gateways to majors in science, technology, engineering, and math can be stultifying bores, a presidential council has said, leaving students “with the impression that all STEM fields are dull and unimaginative.” The council’s members have even suggested assigning faculty members from physics or computer science, for example, to teach the subject. Meanwhile, according to a recent critique, math curricula overemphasize abstract subjects like trigonometry and calculus over more-practical ones, unnecessarily demoralizing students and costing the nation human potential.