Goals and Objectives of the Mathematics Education Program (B.S.Ed.)

1. develop a mathematical literacy which will assist them in making wise decisions as producers and/or consumers of products and services
2. use the words, symbols, and techniques of mathematics with precision so that they will be able to communicate ideas correctly and clearly
3. experience the satisfaction of mathematical discovery from which will evolve curiosity, initiative, confidence, and interest in mathematics
4. comprehend how mathematics contributes to the analysis of events that occur in the physical world
5. understand the contributions of mathematics to man's social, economic, philosophic, and artistic heritage
6. develop patterns of reasoning which will enable them, when confronting new situations, to invent mental representations, to formulate abstractions, to put forward hypotheses, to gather evidence, to verify conjectures, to draw inferences, and to construct arguments

1. understanding of the vector space concept and its use in the study of n-dimensional Euclidean space
2. familiarity with linear transformations, their representations by matrices, and their use in the solutions of dependent and independent systems of linear equations;

3. knowledge of the real numbers as a complete ordered field;

4. understanding of the basic limit processes as they occur in calculus and their applications to differentiation, integration, infinite series and improper integration
5. ability to differentiate and integrate elementary functions and the ability to apply these processes in solving problems
6. knowledge of basic algebraic structures such as groups, rings, fields, and ordered fields and their use as unifying concepts in mathematics (e.g., groups of transformations, permutations; rings of integers, polynomials; fields of rational, real, and complex numbers)
7. understanding of Euclidean and at least one non-Euclidean geometry (hyperbolic or elliptic); familiarity with alternative approaches (e.g., analytic, synthetic, transformational)
8. awareness of the use and limitations of the axiomatic method in determining the logical consistency of a given mathematical structure;

9. knowledge of probability as a mathematical system of random variables and their distributions of statistical limit theorems and of basic topics in statistical inference
10. knowledge of the role of the computer (its capabilities and limitations) and ability to use the computer in problem solving
11. ability to recognize a problem that can be analyzed mathematically, to formulate mathematical models for the problem, to integrate mathematical ideas in search of a solution and to interpret the results in light of the initial problem
12. understanding of the fundamental principles of logic which are used in mathematical reasoning; familiarity with connectives, various forms of the statements of implications and equivalences, universal and existential quantifiers and their denials; knowledge of the relationship between logic and the algebra of sets
13. understanding of the role of mathematics in the development of culture, of the universality of its nature, and its applications in today's world
14. understanding of the purposes, methods, materials, and evaluation of procedures appropriate to the teaching of mathematics
15. awareness of current trends in content development and a familiarity with the literature on the teaching of mathematics
16. ability to select, use, and create from experience a variety of teaching-learning activities, including laboratory experiments, demonstration equipment, and other teaching-learning resources
17. ability to make use of implications from the behavioral sciences in the teaching and learning of mathematics