Mathematics for Teachers

The Master of Mathematics for Teachers (MMT) program is administered through the Centre for Education in Mathematics and Computing (CEMC). It is expected that students will normally take between two and five years to complete this part-time program.

Admission Requirements

The program is targeted to students teaching at the secondary school or college level with a 4-year bachelor's degree in mathematics, mathematics education, science, engineering, or a related discipline with a strong mathematical background. Most applicants to the MMT program will have been away from formal schooling for several years.

The minimum requirements for admission to the MMT program normally include:

• 4 year Bachelors degree (or equivalent) in Mathematics, Mathematics Education, Science, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• At least one year of prior work experience in education, with preference given to those actively teaching in mathematics, science or computer science at the time of application.
• Certification of English language proficiency through one of the accepted examinations if you have not completed three or more years of post-secondary work at a Canadian institution, or at an institution at which English was the primary language of instruction, or have not been employed for a similar period of time in a position in which English was the primary language of business.

Degree Requirements

The degree requirements for the MMT program include the equivalent of nine one-term (0.50 unit weight) graduate level courses including the completion of a capstone project (MATH 699, 0.50 unit weight). Students must maintain an overall average of 75% in the program, with individual course marks of at least 70%. Student performance will be assessed annually for progress towards the MMT degree.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take the equivalent of eight 0.50 unit weight courses from the list below:

• MATH 600 Introduction to Mathematical Software for Teachers (0.25 unit weight)
• MATH 630 Foundations of Probability (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 631 Statistics for Teachers (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 636 Linear Algebra for Teachers (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 640 Number Theory for Teachers (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 641 Algorithm Design and Analysis (0.25 unit weight)
• MATH 642 Introduction to Computer Science: A Mathematical Perspective (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 643 Theory of Computation (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 647 Foundations of Calculus I (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 648 Foundations of Calculus II (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 650 Mathematical Modeling (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 661 Problem Solving and Proof in Geometry (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 674 Special Topics in Mathematical Connections (0.25 unit weight)
• MATH 680 History of Mathematics (0.50 unit weight)
• MATH 690 Summer Workshop for Teachers of Mathematics (0.25 unit weight)
• MATH 692 Reading, Writing and Discovering Proofs (0.25 unit weight)

Each of these courses is offered online, with the exception of MATH 690, which is offered on-campus in Waterloo.
MATH 600 and MATH 692 should be taken in a student's first term in the program.

Part-Time Students

All students in the MMT program are part-time graduate students.

Capstone Project Requirements

The capstone project is designed to give students an opportunity to showcase the knowledge that they have gained and to provide a forum for bringing that knowledge into their own classroom.  In most cases, with the guidance of a faculty member, students will be asked to choose a mathematical concept or area of study, perform all necessary background reading, and then design and complete a project consisting of a short three week mini-course on the chosen topic that would be accessible to their students and colleagues.
To be successfully completed, the capstone project must be approved by the student's capstone supervisor.

Students can begin the capstone requirement any time after they have completed the equivalent of six 0.50 unit weight courses.