Importance Of Teachers Understanding And Teaching Basic Number Theory

Kelly 1 The Importance of Teachers Understanding and Teaching Basic Number Theory Mathematics is one of the most important academic disciplines because it is woven into the very fabric of life, and affects almost everything, if not everything, that we do. Mathematics is not only important to cognitive development, but is essential for the development of certain life skills. Important to these developments is the area of elementary number theory. This paper looks at a brief history of number theory, and its relevance to mathematics education. It also examines the importance for a teacher to understand, and to be able to teach basic or elementary number theory, because it is foundational to the teachers competence to teach mathematics, and is the key to students having a strong base in mathematics. Basic or elementary number theory involves the areas of number theory which are generally taught in elementary and high school math programs (Wikipedia). Number theory or in older usage, arithmetic, is the branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of integers, (Wikipedia). The history of elementary number theory dates back to several thousand years. For example, writing which dates back to the Babylonian era shows that the Babylonians