A Study Of Vector In High Schools

Along with human new knowledge system constructing and forming, the new education idea is initiating the challenge to the traditional education pattern and causes it to carry on the significant revolution so as to adjust the highly developed new knowledge system. Under this kind of environment, the new turn of teaching material reforms are launching in the national scope. Vector, which has a "dual status" of both geometry and algebra forms, for the first time entered high school mathematics in Jiangxi, Shanxi and Tianjin as important part of the trial teaching materials in 1998, and achieved initial results. Then in 2002 it was adopted in the whole country. In Senior High School Mathematics Curriculum Standard (Trial), plane vector is defined as content in mathematics 4 of compulsory curriculum, and spatial vector in mathematics 2-1 of elective curriculum.It has been 6 years since the new teaching material, published by People's Education Press, was adopted in Hubei Province in 2001. However, in most schools the teaching of vector is not good enough as there are so many problems to discuss. As an experienced teacher in one of the model provincial high schools, I think it important to make a further study on the teaching of vector in high school mathematics, deeply comprehend the teaching materials, so as to organize a good teaching method.This article shows my preliminary study on the aspects of necessity and educational value in high school mathematics teaching, teaching arrangement and purpose of the teaching of vector, the situation of vector, the transformation of traditional teaching material caused by vector, some important problems in the teaching of vector and the application of vector in solid geometry.The necessity of the introduction of vector to high school mathematics teaching is manifested in the following 4 aspects: it is necessary to the transformation from geometry to algebra; it is helpful to the conjunction between modern mathematics and high school mathematics; it is helpful to interest the students to learn mathematics; and it is consonant with the tendency of the international reformation of mathematics courses. The educational value of vector in high school mathematics education is manifested in the following aspects: to learn vector in high school is helpful for the students to understand the connection between mathematics and real life as well as other subjects; to understand the significance and value of mathematics operation so as to improve the operation ability; to obtain a new method to deal with geometrical problems so as to develop the comprehension of the substance of mathematics by grasping the idea of the correlation of geometry and algebra; vector being a effective tool to solve mathematics problems, learning it can improve the students' mathematics solving ability; vector has wide practical value in high school curriculums. Where after an initial analysis is made on the purpose and content of vector teaching in new high school mathematics teaching, and accordingly perspectives are put forward on the situation of vector and the transformation of traditional teaching material caused by vector. After the discussion on the vector teaching in high school mathematics courses, the article brings forward some important problems in vector teaching and emphasizes the application of vector in high school education.