Honours Mathematics students at the University of Edinburgh can opt for a course entitled ‘Mathematical Education’ in their final year. This has proved to be a popular option for students including many who have no interest in teaching. The course was begun in 1983 by Dr John Searl and has played a key role over the last twenty years in shaping the attitudes of many students towards the study of Mathematics itself as well as Mathematical Education.
It is a sad fact that many undergraduate courses in mathematics allow very little opportunity for students to stand back and appreciate the bigger picture. Why are we studying this subject? Where could it lead? How do the different elements fit together to make a whole? Many students become bogged down in the detail of the mathematics they must reproduce in the next exam. Yes ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ must involve working through details of mathematical notation methods and proof but when do we allow our students to glimpse the view? The Mathematical Education course at Edinburgh allows the students an opportunity to look at the mathematical landscape. This I believe is one reason why many students claim it is such a valuable part of their university experience
