MTHEL 206Introduction to Mathematics Education

Units: 0.50
Faculty: Mathematics
Subject: Mathematics Elective

When it runs

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Current trends in education, professional practices and administration, the role of the department head, lesson planning, techniques of teaching, evaluation of students, special students, extracurricular activities, the relationship between elementary and secondary school mathematics, audio-visual materials.

Prerequisites

Enrolled in H-Mathematics/Teaching

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Reviewed on UW Flow

83% liked it42% easy92% useful

From 6 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

Personally the workload was heavier than expected (not bird), and assignments are a bit sporradic/disorganized, like high school. A lot of marking, preparing short lessons, and random worksheets. A lot of the lectures are just the prof/guest teaching you a high school math lesson via different teaching styles. I found this a bit excruciating sometimes, since you can usually get the idea of the teaching style pretty quickly but then you spend the rest of the time relearning high school math. Unfortunately Sandra also rubbed me the wrong way sometimes (singling out students, passive aggressiveness). There were some important foundations taught (curriculum, solution style, marking practices)…

Feb 2026 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW Flow Remove this
The work isn't super difficult, but it can get rather time consuming. Sometimes you don't know about assignments you'll have until the day you receive them, so keep some time open in your schedule to complete your course work.

Mar 2025 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW Flow Remove this
Amazing introduction to teaching. There is a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to teaching a high school classroom. A large course load so you got to have a lot of time for it.

Aug 2024 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

2 posts and comments in 2 threads mention MTHEL 206, August 2024 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Oct 11, 2024 Math/teaching plan 2 points, 1 comment

“Hey I was wondering if anyone in the math/teaching plan could provide me with some information on what the interview entails and how to prepare for them. …”

u/sharkleaf70: “… I had a great time in MTHEL 206 too, class size of only abt 10 ppl and we got to learn a lot abt teaching and what goes on behind the scenes. …”

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Spring 2024

Aug 14, 2024 Question about Math/Teaching Major Co-op 1 point, 2 comments

“Hey there, I was wondering if co-op placements for the Math/Teaching major are competitive, and overall just how co-op works for the math/teaching major.”

u/OkRevolution1962: “It’s not really that competitive. There are only a few placements and only in Fall and Winter, but there are also very few students and you’re only supposed to do 2 teaching placements total. …”

u/OkRevolution1962: “… As for whether or not it’s worth it, you can complete any other math major requirements along with MTHEL 206 and 2 teaching placements and still get a (other major)/teaching on your degree. …”