UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
DEPARTMENT OF TEACHER EDUCATION
MUTARE TEACHERS COLLEGE
DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION (SECONDARY)
PURE MATHEMATICS SYLLABUS
POST ‘A’ LEVEL
1.0 PREAMBLE
This syllabus is designed for students pursuing a two-year Post ‘A’ Level
Mathematics pre-service Diploma in Education following a 2-2-2 model. It seeks
to develop teachers who can teach Pure Mathematics competently at secondary
school level. The course is an Applied Mathematics course, taken together with
the Applied Mathematics course. The course intends to produce a Mathematics
teacher who understands, interprets and adaptive to the ever-changing educational
and economic environment. The course addresses the secondary school
competence based curriculum as well as contemporary issues such as ESD and
disaster awareness. Issues relating to entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity
will be reflected through problem solving. The content covered will be up to first
year university level.
2.0. AIMS
The course aims to:
2.1 expose Mathematics student teachers to a wide range of experience in
Pure Mathematics;
2.2 develop Mathematics teachers who appreciate the value of an intellectual
mastery of Mathematical concepts
2.3 produce Mathematics teachers who are aware of, and are able to apply
Mathematics in everyday life;
2.4 produce competent Mathematics teachers who understand how children
acquire and develop Mathematical concepts;
2.5 produce Mathematics teachers who understand and appreciate the wider
application of Mathematics and its linkage to other disciplines;
2.6 produce student teachers who place more emphasis on the process rather than
the product in the teaching and learning of Mathematics;
2.7 produce Mathematics teachers that can integrate I.C.T in the teaching and
learning of Mathematics; and
2.8 to assess students through assignments, test and exams.
2.9
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3.0 OBJECTIVES
Student teachers should be able to:
3.1 demonstrate an understanding of fundamental Mathematical concepts,
methods and processes;
3.2 recognize the deductive/inductive nature of Mathematics;
3.3 demonstrate an understanding of and skill in the use of Mathematical
language for communicating ideas;
3.4 relate Mathematics to real life situations;
3.5 display logical thinking in solving Mathematical problems;
3.6 show the interrelationship between various branches of Mathematics;
3.7 display skill in the making and use of Mathematical models in the solution of
problems;
3.8 establish the unifying power of algebraic structure and Mathematical
generalization;
3.9 initiate Mathematical activity themselves by investigating open ended
situations;
3.10 evaluate critically school textbooks as they use them as resources;
3.11 cope with new ideas in Mathematics;
3.12 use learner-centered approaches;
3.13 show an understanding of the current themes in Mathematical pedagogics
through an application of these in the teaching and learning of the subject;
and
3.14 integrate I.C.T. in the teaching and learning of Mathematics; and
3.15 apply mathematical modelling in addressing environmental issues.
4.0 CONTENT
4.1 CALCULUS AND ANALYTIC GEOMETRY
4.1.1 COMPLEX NUMBERS – First year term 1
4.1.1.1 Complex number, definition, notation
4.1.1.2 Algebraic operations with Complex numbers
4.1.1.3 Argand Diagram
4.1.1.4 De Moivre’s Theorem and applications
4.1.1.5 Roots of Complex Numbers
4.1.2 DIFFERENTIAL AND INTEGRAL CALCULUS - First year term 2
4.1.2.1Limits and continuity of functions of one variable
4.1.2.2 Laws of limits, continuity and differentiability
4.1.2.3 Integration
4.1.2.4 Integration methods; by parts, by substitution and reduction
formulae
4.1.2.5 Sketching simple curves
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4.1.3 PLANE ANALYTIC GEOMETRY – Distance Education
4.1.3.1 Conic sections in general
4.1.3.2 Circle
4.1.3.3 Parabola
4.1.3.4 Ellipse
4.1.3.5 Hyperbola
4.1.4 CIRCULAR AND HYPERBOLIC FUNCTIONS – Distance Education
4.1.4.1 Definitions and identities of hyperbolic
functions
4.1.4.2 Derivatives and integrals of hyperbolic
function.
4.1.4.3 The inverse circular function
4.1.4.4 The inverse hyperbolic function
4.1.4.5 Standard integrals related to circular and
hyperbolic
functions
4.1.5 SERIES & DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS - Second year
term 2
4.1.5.1 Mathematical induction
4.1.5.2 Infinite series and convergence criteria
4.1.5.3 Power series, the theorems of Taylor and
Maclaurin
4.1.5.4 First order: variable separable homogeneous
exact and linear
4.1.5.5 Integrating factor
4.1.5.6 Second order reducible to first order
4.1.5.7 Homogeneous linear equations (where
equation = 0)
4.1.5.8 Non-homogeneous linear equations (where
equation = f(x))
4.1.5.9 Population dynamics and related problems
4.2 ALGEBRA
4.2.1 RELATIONS AND OPERATIONS- First year term 1
4.2.1.1 Properties of relations, diagraphs
4.2.1.2 Types of relations, reflexive, symmetric, transitive and
equivalence
4.2.1.3 Equivalence classes
4.2.1.4 Simple modulo arithmetic
4.2.1.5 Function: notion of a function; composition of function
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4.2.2 MATRICES AND SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS- First year term 2
4.2.2.1 Matrices and matrix operations: addition, subtraction,
multiplication by a scalar
4.2.2.2 Solution of 2x2 and 3x3 matrices: identity, determinant and
inverse
4.2.2.3 Nature and solution of linear equations up to 3 unknowns
using matrices: row transformations; Gauss elimination
method, inverse method; Cramer’s rule; triangular
decomposition
4.2.3 VECTORS IN 2-SPACE AND 3-SPACE –Distance Education
4.2.3.1 Types of vectors: position, free
4.2.3.2 Vector arithmetic and norm of a vector; use of these in proving
equivalence, parallelism and incidence in rectilinear figures
and geometry
4.2.3.3 Dot and cross product and their applications
4.2.3.4 Equations of a straight line and plane in terms of vectors
4.2.4 BOOLEAN ALGEBRA & GROUPS - Second year term 2
4.2.4.1 Algebra of propositions.
4.2.4.2 Boolean algebra of sets: commutative, associative,
distributive, idempotent, involution, De Morgan’s laws,
complement and identity laws
4.2.4.3 Algebra of switching circuits
4.2.4.4 Venn diagrams and arguments
4.2.4.5 Binary operations: axioms and fundamental properties of
Algebra: closure, commutativity, associativity, identity element,
inverse element, distributivity
4.2.4.6 Group structure: axioms and fundamental properties
4.2.4.7 Cyclic groups, Abelian groups, subgroups
4.2.4.8 Isomorphism between groups
4.3 MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
First year term 1
4.3.1 Communication in Mathematics
4.3.2 Mathematical patterns
4.3.3 Problem solving
4.3.4 Sets: types, operations, relations between sets; number systems as subsets
and powerset; Venn diagrams and their uses
4.3.5 Number bases: four operations in different bases; conversion from one base
to the other
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4.3.6 Loci in 2- and 3- dimensions
4.3.7 Symmetry: point, rotational and line symmetry in 2- and 3- dimension
polygons and solids
First year term 2
4.3.8 Recreational mathematics
4.3.9 Connections (propositions & symbols)
4.3.10 Errors and misconception
4.3.11 Similarity and congruency: relationship between areas and volumes of
similar figures including solids
4.3.12 Transformations: isometric and non-isometric; transformation matrices
4.3.13 Variation: direct, inverse, joint and partial, graphical representation
interpretation
Second year term 2
4.3.14 Mathematical proofs
4.3.15 Reasoning
4.3.16 Inequalities: the number line, open and closed intervals
4.3.17 Solution of linear and quadratic inequalities: graphical method and use of
tables
4.3.18 Linear programming and applications in industry and Commerce
4.3.19 “O”-level vectors
5.0 LEARNING APPROACHES/STRATEGIES
5.1 Lectures
5.2 Individual study
5.3 Co-operative learning in groups and pairs
5.4 Micro teaching
5.5 Peer teaching
5.6 Individual and group assignments
5.7 Tests and exercises
5.8 Research studies
5.9 Field trips
5.10 Resource persons
5.11 Case studies
5.12 Online and Distance Learning
5.13 Guided discovery learning
6.0 ASSESSMENT:
Students will be assessed in Pure Mathematics (Calculus and Algebra)
6.1.0 COURSEWORK: Weighting: 50%
6.1.1 Coursework is based on final year assessments
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6.1.2 Two tests from Pure Mathematics and one test from
Mathematics Education.
6.1.3 One Distance Education test from Pure Mathematics.
6.1.4 All the four coursework pieces are equally weighted.
6.2.0. EXAMINATION: Weighting: 50%
6.2.1 Pure Mathematics: Paper - Algebra, Calculus and
Analytic Geometry (3hours)
6.2.2 Mathematics Education: 3- hour paper consisting of two
sections, A and B.
6.3.0 PASSING CRITERIA
6.3.1 The candidate should pass on average of coursework and
examinations.
6.4.0 OVERALL WEIGHTING
Coursework 50%
Examination 50%
Total 100%
