New math is a term referring to a brief dramatic change in the way mathematics was taught in American grade schools during the 1960s. The name is commonly given to a set of teaching practices introduced in the U.S. shortly after the Sputnik crisis in order to boost scientific education and mathematical skill in the population; so that the supposed intellectual threat of the Soviet engineers, reputedly highly skilled mathematicians, could be met. In the consciousness of many Americans in the late 20th and early 21st century, New math is reputed to have been a relatively ineffective approach, sometimes the object of mockery. Euclid, a famous Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry, is shown here in detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... Sputnik 1 The Sputnik crisis was a turn point of the Cold War that began on October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik 1 satellite. ... Euclid, a famous Greek mathematician known as the father of geometry, is shown here in detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

The new mathematical pedagogy

New Math emphasized mathematical structure through abstract concepts like set theory and number bases other than 10. Beginning in the early 1960s the new educational doctrine was installed, not only in the USA, but all over the western hemisphere. In mathematics, a structure on a set is some additional mathematical objects that, loosely speaking, attach to the set, making it easier to visualize or work with. ... Set theory is the mathematical theory of sets, which represent collections of abstract objects. ... A numeral is a symbol or group of symbols that represents a number. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The geographical western hemisphere of Earth, highlighted in yellow. ...

Much of the publicity centered on the focus of this program on set theory (influenced ultimately by the Nicolas Bourbaki group and their work), functions, and diagram drawings. It was stressed that these subjects should be introduced early. Some of this focus was seen as exaggerated, even dogmatic. For example, in some cases first-graders were taught axiomatic set theory^{[citation needed]}. The idea behind this was that if the axiomatic foundations of mathematics were introduced to children, they could "easily" cope with the theorems of the mathematical system later. Set theory is the mathematical theory of sets, which represent collections of abstract objects. ... Nicolas Bourbaki is the collective allonym under which a group of mainly French 20th-century mathematicians wrote a series of books presenting an exposition of modern advanced mathematics, beginning in 1935. ... Partial plot of a function f. ... Sample flowchart diagram A diagram is a simplified and structured visual representation of concepts, ideas, constructions, relations, statistical data, anatomy etc used in all aspects of human activities to visualize and clarify the topic. ... Dogma (the plural is either dogmata or dogmas) is belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization to be authoritative and not to be disputed or doubted. ... A theorem is a proposition that has been or is to be proved on the basis of explicit assumptions. ...

Resistance to curriculum change

Many parents and teachers in the U.S. complained that the new curriculum was too far outside of students' ordinary experience and was not worth taking time away from more traditional topics, such as arithmetic. The material also put new demands on teachers. In the end it was concluded that the experiment was not working, and New Math fell out of favor before the end of the decade, though it continued to be taught for years thereafter in some school districts. Arithmetic is the current mathematics collaboration of the week! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ...

Across the developed world

In the broader context, reform of school mathematics curricula was also pursued in European countries such as the United Kingdom (particularly by the School Mathematics Project), and France, where the extremely high prestige of mathematical qualifications was not matched by teaching that connected with contemporary research and university topics. In West Germany the changes were seen as part of a larger process of Bildungsreform. Beyond the use of set theory and different approach to arithmetic, characteristic changes were transformation geometry in place of the traditional deductive Euclidean geometry, and an approach to calculus that was based on greater insight, rather than emphasis on facility. World map showing Europe Europe is one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... The School Mathematics Project is a developer of mathematics textbooks for secondary schools, based in Southampton in the UK. Now generally known as SMP, it began as a research project inspired by a 1961 conference chaired by Brian Thwaites at the University of Southampton, which itself was precipitated by calls... In mathematics, transformation geometry is a name for a pedagogic theory for teaching Euclidean geometry, based on the Erlangen programme. ... Euclid Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system due to the Hellenistic mathematician Euclid of Egypt. ... Calculus is a central branch of mathematics, developed from algebra and geometry. ...

Again the changes met with a mixed reception, but for different reasons. For example, the end-users of mathematics studies were at that time most in the physical sciences and engineering; and they expected manipulative skill in calculus, rather than more abstract ideas. Some compromises have since been required, given that discrete mathematics is the basic language of computing. Physical science is an encompassing term for the branches of natural science, and science (generally), that study non-living systems, in contrast to the biological sciences. ... Bold text Engineering is the application of scientific and technical knowledge to solve human problems. ... Discrete mathematics, also called finite mathematics, is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete, in the sense of not supporting or requiring the notion of continuity. ... Originally, the word computing was synonymous with counting and calculating, and a science that deals with the original sense of computing mathematical calculations. ...

Teaching in the USSR probably^{[citation needed]} never experienced such upheavals, being kept in tune both with the applications and academic trends.

In Japan and Asian countries generally, the emphasis on basic numeracy has traditionally been high. Numeracy is a term that emerged in the United Kingdom as a contraction of numerical literacy. In the United States, it is familiar to math educators and intellectuals but not in the common usage. ...

Popular culture

Tom Lehrer wrote a satirical song named New Math which centered around the process of subtracting 173 from 342 in decimal and octal. The song is in the style of a lecture about the general concept of subtraction in arbitrary number systems, illustrated by two simple calculations, and highlights the emphasis on insight and abstract concepts of the New Math approach. Lehrer's explanation of the two calculations is entirely correct, but presented in such a way (at rapid speed, with minimal visual aids, and with snide remarks thrown in) as to make it difficult for most audience members to follow the rather simple calculations being performed. This is intended to poke fun at the kind of bafflement the New Math approach often evoked when apparently simple calculations were presented in a very general manner which, while mathematically correct and arguably trivial for mathematicians, was likely very confusing to absolute beginners and even contemporary adult audiences. Summing up his opinion of New Math is the final sentence from his introductory remarks to the song: "...in the new approach, as you know, the important thing is to understand what you're doing, rather than to get the right answer." Tom Lehrer in 1960. ... The decimal (base ten or occasionally denary) numeral system has ten as its base. ... The octal numeral system is the base-8 number system, and uses the digits 0 to 7. ...

In modern culture (specifically within the geek community), the term is often used sarcastically in instances where people base analyses upon incorrect calculations. An example would be "She justified that expenditure with that New Math™." Look up Geek in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

See also

• Comprehensive School Mathematics Program (CSMP)

The Comprehensive School Mathematics Program, also known as CSMP, was part of the McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning) Institutes Comprehensive School Reform program. ...

External links

• A history of the New Math, including the UICSM and SMSG projects