Is Mathematical proof important in mathematics? Why/why not?
Is Mathematical proof important in secondary school math teaching & learning? Why/why not?
I think proofs play a very important role in mathematics. Its how we can show our peers, colleagues and ourselves that a concept or theory is in fact true. Proofs are the basic building blocks of math. We need to be able to understand and use proofs so that we can build and expand on them. Everything in math builds and relies on eachother, there is a lot of crossover between different fields of math. Proofs make us able to do just that.
Is it important in secondary education? I'm not so convinced that it is absolutely necessary but it's definitely something that we should try to incorporate into our lessons. Secondary students are always curious as to why we do certain things in math?, why certain concepts are true? And its important, if we can, to explain to them why. Sometimes though proofs can be too complex for even a teacher to fully understand let alone a student. While it is vital to mathematics, it is not vital to secondary education. If and when we can use proofs in an understanding matter to students we should do so. But being able to learn the fundamentals and concepts in secondary math doesn't rely on proofs.
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