Learning Outcomes in Geometry at Secondary Stage

Abstract

Geometry is recognized as not only one of the most important components of the 
school mathematics curriculum but also, alongside algebra, as one of the most important 
elements of mathematics itself. The reasons for including geometry in the school mathematics 
curriculum are providing opportunities for learners not only to develop spatial awareness, 
geometrical intuition and the ability to visualize, but also to develop knowledge and 
understanding of, and the ability to use, geometrical properties and theorem. In general, the twin 
concerns of the mathematics curriculum are: What can mathematics education do, to engage the 
minds of every student and strengthen the student‘s resources? As mathematics is a compulsory 
subject at the secondary stage, access to quality mathematics education is the right of every 
child. So, while talking about quality mathematics education, in general, in what sense ―the 
learning outcome‖ can be understood? In fact, ‗curricular expectations‘ define what a child 
should know, be able to do and dispositions that should be acquired over a period of time. 
Learning outcomes are derived from curricular expectations and syllabus is provided to help all 
the stakeholders in understanding the goals to be achieved. The learning outcomes are generally 
treated as assessment standards or benchmarks for assessment. Children are often assessed with 
paper pencil tests, which include certain types of questions without proper analysis whether 
these questions have potential to assess child‘s level of understanding in a particular class. 
There is a need for a teacher to understand how children progress in learning continuum of 
mathematics, how children‘s learning matches with the expectations of curriculum and what 
pedagogies she/he has to adopt for maximizing child‘s learning. This article deals with, 
expectations of the mathematics curriculum at secondary stage, especially for Geometry portion. 
Here, we try to explore the learning outcomes in Geometry for Secondary Stage Mathematics 
along with some suggested pedagogical processes, which may be undertaken to achieve the 
outcomes. These pedagogical processes are not exhaustive. They are suggestive in nature, and 
may vary according to the learner‘s context.