Our emphasis on mathematical issues, uses of technology, alternative assessment, and techniques of assertive discipline provides students with the necessary background for professional growth and development. Students gain exposure to both constructivism and cooperative learning and are trained to develop approaches to problem solving that will motivate their students. They work with graphing calculators and computers as both mathematical and teaching tools, and as aids to conjecture and discovery. Above all, our program has a strong emphasis on learning mathematics, and on developing an appreciation of the beauty of the subject, and its connections to art and science. The Mathematics Secondary Education Certification Program at Stony Brook is very much in line with the national standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Students spend many hours observing at the junior and senior high school levels.
They do an intensive program of micro-teaching, aiding two different teachers and teaching several lessons. This is followed by the full student teaching experience, which prepares them for all the aspects of teaching. The Stony Brook Mathematics Department strives to produce future teachers with strong backgrounds in mathematics. Here in Suffolk County our program has been widely recognized for its excellence, and for the thoroughness with which our students are prepared. Many of our students are hired in local schools, often in the same districts where they have done their student teaching.