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Mathematical modelling in the classroom

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2016

R. D. Nelson
R. D. Nelson*
Affiliation:
Ampleforth College, York
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Extract

A teacher can make a great deal out of some of the questions which pupils and friends put to him from time to time. In an article in Mathematics in School a few years ago [1] I listed a number of such questions and discussed one, which involved a geographical application of matrices, in detail. The present article continues this theme, but its main aim is to stimulate discussion of the place of “mathematical modelling” in the curriculum. For it is felt by some that, in spite of the opportunities offered by (say) linear programming, mechanics and probability, insufficient emphasis is placed on modelling in the secondary school. It has been said too that we have not been notably successful in finding good applications of topics new to our syllabuses and incorporating them into our teaching [2].

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Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 61 , Issue 416 , June 1977, pp. 82 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © Mathematical Association 1977

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References

1. Nelson, R. D., The questions pupils ask, Math. in Sch. 2 (5), 10–11 (September 1973).Google Scholar
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