Connections

When students are able to see the connections across different mathematical content areas, they develop a view of mathematics as an integrated whole. As students build on their previous mathematical understandings while learning new concepts, students become increasingly aware of the connections among various mathematical topics. (Adapted from NCTM, 2000)

Implications for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment An integrated mathematics curriculum helps students make connections across the strands of mathematics. Problem-based instructional tasks provide connections to other disciplines and to the real world. Instruction should emphasize important mathematics across and within the disciplines. Questions should be posed that encourage students to make connections, including connections to their previous mathematical knowledge.

Essential Skills in Connections:

  1. Recognizes and uses connections among mathematical ideas and how they build on one another to produce a coherent whole | Example
  2. Recognizes and applies mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics | Example