SYLLABUS Spring 2002
Course: M4010-1, Math for El. School Teachers I
(class meets MTWF, 10:45am-11:35am, WBB 207
Instructor: Dr.A.D.Roberts, JWB 312, 581-6710; message 581-6851
e-mail:
aroberts@math.utah.eduweb page for Math 4010-20 sequence: http://www.math.utah.edu/~aroberts/401020gensyll.html; web page for M4010-1, Spring 2002: http://www.math.utah.edu/~aroberts/4010Sp02.html
Office Hours: MTF, 9:30am - 10:30 am; W, 11:45am-12:30pm; also by appointment
Text: Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers: A Contemporary Approach (updated 5th edition)by Musser, Burger, Peterson
Prerequisite: Math 1050 with a grade of C or higher
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Course Content
This course is the first in a two-semester sequence of required mathematics courses for elementary school teachers. The sequence is designed to help K-6 preservice teachers develop a conceptual framework for mathematics, especially for those aspects normally experienced in elementary school. Through their work in each course in the sequence students examine the common threads of mathematics throughout the curriculum, consider both the mathematical and the pedagogical content issues in teaching, and spend a six hour practicuum in a local school relating their course work to the classroom situation.
Please note: This course is designed for preservice elementary school teachers and requires time spent in the elementary school classroom. Students must complete the practicuum (described below) in order to pass the course.
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Course Work and Grading
Assignments( lowest score dropped) 14%
Midterms (3) 42%
Practicuum Report 14%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
Notes
1. Assignments: There will be about 4-5 assignments on the course work during the semester. These assignments will be given out in class on a Friday and due the following Friday. The topics for assignments will be based on class lectures, homework, readings, and some information from the internet. For assignments to be graded, a student's work on the assignment must be neat and legible, written on 8 1/2 by 11 graph paper, one side only, with all sheets stapled and the original assignment sheet attached. Students are to maintain an assignment folder for their work. Grading will be based on the accuracy, thoughtfulness, completeness, and clarity of the student's response to the assignment.Assignments will generally include a brief in-class quiz on the day that the assignment is due. Since the lowest score will be dropped, late assignments will NOT be accepted.
2. Midterms: There will be three midterms and the tentative dates 1/30, 3/18, 4/17. These dates will be made firm about a week before the midterm is scheduled.
3. Practicuum: Each student will spend six hours in an elementary school classroom, three periods observing and three periods working with one or two children in the classroom. This classroom experience will be the subject of some class discussion and an assignment so please be sure to complete your observations by March 22nd
4. Final Exam: The final exam is will be on Tuesday, 5/1/2001, 9:15am-11:15am.
5. Course Focus: There's a lot of truth in the statement, "Knowing math for oneself isn't the same as knowing math in order to teach". At this stage in your own education knowing when 367x28 is an appropriate answer and determining this product is a simple task. But teaching others when multiplication is appropriate and how to multiply raises questions about what multiplication means, why certain procedures work, and how multiplication of whole numbers is related to that of fractions, decimals, and algebraic expressions such as (a+b)(x+y). In M4010 we will consider these and many other questions as we work to develop a deeper understanding of the mathematics of the Real Number System.
6. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that reasonable accomodations be made for students with physical, sensory, cognitive, systemic, learning, and psychiatric disabilities. Please contact me at the beginning of the semester to discuss any such accomodations for the course.
7. Withdrawals: Please note that the last day to withdraw from the class March 15, 2002. Check the Spring Class Schedule for details.
Resources Available for The M4010-20 Sequence
The Mathematics Department has a web page for mathematics teachers (preservice and inservice) in K-12 schools. You can reach this site by going to the Mathematics Department Home Page (
http://math.utah.edu) and using the link, "MathEd", or you can go directly to: http://www.math.utah.edu/~aroberts/MathEd1.This site contains information on current issues and articles in mathematics education as mathematical resources for teachers. During this course you will be asked to examine some of the articles and resources on this page. In addition, the list below provides resources that you may find useful for your coursework and for your practicuum.
There is a Curriculum Library in Marriott Library which contains copies of many of the textbooks currently used in elementary schools.
Materials 1-7 are available in the Math Library* (in the basement of the Math Building JWB), either on reserve, or in the stacks.
1. NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards;
NCTM Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics
2. Historical Topics in the Mathematics Classroom
3. What Expert Teachers Say About Teaching Mathematics
4. Making the Grade in Mathematics
5. NCTM Patterns and Functions, Gr. 5-8
6. NCTM Number Sense, Gr 5-8
7. Projects to Enrich Elementary School Mathematics
*Since the renovation of the Math Library some of these texts have remained in Marriott Library and are in the process of being transferred.
Materials 8-14 are available in my office.
8. Measuring Up (assessment in mathematics)
9. Assessment Alternatives in Mathematics
10. Used Number Series (Probability and Statistics)
11. Quantitative Literacy Series (Probability and Statistics)
12. Innumeracy: Nathematical Literacy and Its Consequences
13. Project Mathematics! Video tapes on geometry
14. Assorted books by Marilyn Burns