Course Story

How can Algebra help us beyond school?  As we explore situations, what do we notice?  Are there patterns of interest?  If there are, how can we describe these patterns and how can they help us make predictions and decisions?  What language and mathematical ideas do we use to increase our precision? As new topics are introduced, students will work with informal descriptions of contextual data and generalize what they see. It is important to allow the students time to  describe the patterns without the burden of using formal symbols or vocabulary.  The formalization of these ideas is developed as students generalize concepts  through the exploration of specific functions. This generalization leads towards proficiency with abstract symbolic manipulation. Students will complete the course with the conceptual understanding and procedural skills for success in continued study of advanced mathematics.