Teaching and Learning Elementary Mathematics
Teaching and Learning Elementary Mathematics
Syllabus Course: EDUC 410
Instructor: Dr. Kevin LoPresto
Office: Peters A038 ph: 831-5586
Email: klopresto@radford.edu
Office Hours: 1 hour before class or by appointment
Required Textbooks:
1. Articles will be posted on WebCT
Catalog Description: This pedagogy course builds on the mathematics courses taken by students and provides the skills needed to be effective elementary educators. Students discuss applications of learning theories to mathematics education and are provided with concrete experiences that can be utilized in the elementary classroom. The incorporation of national and state standards in planning and instruction will be modeled.
Honor statement: By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. Please refer to your Student Handbook for details.
Students with Disabilities: If you are seeking classroom accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are required to register with the Disability Resource Office (DRO). The DRO is located in Room 32, Tyler Hall. The phone number is 831-6450. To receive academic accommodations for this class, please obtain the proper DRO forms and meet with me at the beginning of the semester.
H1N1 protocol: Please see supplements at end of this document for information regarding H1N1. If you do miss time because you are ill, you will be responsible for making up the work missed. How and when the work is made up will be decided on an individual basis.
Electronic Devices: Students may only use handheld devices or laptop computers for legitimate class related activities. Cell phones must be set to vibrate (off is preferable). If you do receive a phone call and you have to take it, please leave quietly to answer the call. NO TEXTING ALLOWED DURING CLASS‼!
Correspondence: The most efficient way to contact me is via email. I try to respond within 24 hours, but there are times when it may take me a few days, particularly on weekends or when my supervision schedule becomes full. If you have an issue that needs a response quickly, please put that in the email and I will try to accommodate your request.
Course Description and Goals
Your main goal as an instructor is to “…help your students develop ‘mathematical power.’ This includes both ability (to conjecture, reason logically, solve non-routine problems and communicate mathematically) and attitude (self-confidence and a disposition to question, explore, and engage in significant mathematical problems)” (Dunn, 2005). In order to aid you in this endeavor, the course will be organized in the three parts that follow:
How to design and implement lessons for the differentiated classroom?
Everything that is discussed in this class has the goal of leading you to understand how to teach mathematics so ALL students have the same opportunities to succeed. To be clear ALL students refers to the various subgroups that are in every class (e.g. special needs kids, minority, low-SES, females, etc.). Equity should be at the forefront of your thoughts when going through the course.
What is Mathematics? What is the Mathematics Reform?
We will reflect upon our own experiences, feelings, and beliefs about mathematics. We will then look at mathematics as a discipline, and compare more traditional ideas about what it means to ‘know’ and ‘do’ mathematics to the vision of mathematics advocated by the reform movements.
• What does it mean to “understand” a concept in mathematics?
• What does it mean to “do” mathematics?
• What is the purpose of learning mathematics? What might the purpose be?
How do children learn mathematics?
The course takes a closer look at how children think about mathematics. We will learn to listen carefully to children’s mathematical thinking, and to use what we hear and see to assess children’s understanding and plan instruction based on that assessment. We will think about issues such as:
• What makes a ‘good mathematical task’, and how can a good task support students’ learning?
• How do children make sense of numbers and operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division?
• What strategies do children often use? How do those strategies progress over time?
• How can tools (including manipulatives, calculators, and other technology) assist children in their thinking and problem solving?
How do we plan and implement lessons that promote understanding, proficiency, and confidence?
In part three, we will focus on issues related to teaching and learning mathematics in a classroom setting. We will discuss the roles of students and teachers in the classroom, the role that communication plays in learning, and ways to foster a classroom environment that encourages children to effectively communicate their thinking as well as listen respectfully to others. We will learn about a variety of lesson planning / assessment formats and small groups will collaborate to create and implement a mathematics lesson with students. We will consider questions such as:
• What are the roles of a teacher in a math classroom? What are the roles of the students?
• How can we promote discussion in the classroom?
• What do we need to think about when planning and implementing a mathematics lesson?
• How can we adjust our instruction based on what we learn from students?
GENERAL POLICIES FOR THE COURSE
Philosophy
The assigned readings and our class discussions are essential to your understanding of the concepts of the course. This course will allow you to develop your own philosophy for teaching mathematics and in turn, develop your own methodology.
When doing the readings each week, you should:
• synthesize the major themes,
• apply new ideas to working with children and organizing instruction,
• look for examples that illuminate a point in a new way for you,
• raise questions that you don’t necessarily know the answers to,
• consider alternative points of view (especially ones you may not agree with)
• critically examine your beliefs and knowledge about teaching and learning math in light of our discussions and readings
All meaningful learning is the result of the struggle to integrate new knowledge into your old ways of thinking and doing (called “cognitive dissonance”). It is not easy. In this class, I value the struggles and challenges you take on, and are more impressed by work that takes them on than by work that appears mainly to regurgitate readings and discussions.
Justifications
Much of what you will have to do this semester is to justify your responses. Your justifications come from the readings. While that is fine and you should have opinions, being able to back them up with evidence from research strengthens your position. No matter if it is for an assignment or during class discussions, I will be looking for justifications. This will entail me asking one simple question, “Why?” much of the time. Do not take it as an indication that you are wrong. It just means I care what you think and the rest of the class does as well. If you have a response, there must be a reason why. This course will aid you in verbalizing your reason.
WebCT/Blackboard
All assignments will be distributed and submitted via Blackboard. Two projects are to be done in groups. You will sign up for groups on Blackboard. This allows for one assignment per group to be submitted. Supplementary articles, resources and web links will also be uploaded to Blackboard throughout the semester. Please make sure to check Blackboard frequently
Grammar
Please read your papers for correct spelling and grammar (use a spell checker if you have one on your computer; look up spellings if they are not in your spell checker). I will take off a small amount for excessive spelling and grammar mistakes. Some common mistakes: confusing it’s (contraction of it is ) and its (possessive); misuse of students, student’s and students’ , and their, they’re and there; writing would of for would have, as in “the children would have done math all day long if I had let them.”
Citing Sources
You will use APA 5th ed. formatting for your in-text and end of text references. This is a standard method of “giving credit where credit is due.” Your justifications for your various ideas will emanate from the readings and the original owner of the ideas must be given credit. See Weblinks on Blackboard for a link to an APA website.
Grades:
In this course all grades are important, but some assignments take more time and thought so therefore some may have a different weight.
|Math Story |10% |
|Final Project-Child Interviews |30% |
|The overall goal of project is to paint a picture of a child’s understanding of mathematics, more specifically of number and| |
|number operations. | |
|Equity and Diversity Project-Technology Task |15%[pic] |
|Your task is to convince your principal, colleagues and parents that your philosophy about teaching mathematics should be | |
|implemented. You may use any media you see fit (e.g. PowerPoint, Smartboard, brochure, video, etc.) | |
|Attendance/Class Participation |15% |
|This course is an early field experience course. It is the beginning of your professional preparation for teaching and | |
|expectations for promptness, attendance, participation and attitude are high. These factors will be evaluated, documented | |
|and forwarded as a portion of your admission requirements into full-time blocking. It is expected that every student will | |
|attend every class. Arriving on time, remaining on task, being prepared and participating in our learning community are all | |
|parts of the professionalism you are developing. Absences need to be handled professionally. Unexcused and/or excessive | |
|absence could affect your overall grade. | |
| | |
|Participation will be determined by how you interact with your classmates during small group activities, whole group | |
|discussions, thoroughness in which you did the readings, etc. It is not enough to show up. You need to become part of the | |
|discussion. | |
|Lesson Planning Activity |15% |
|geometry/art/SS | |
|Reading Response journals |15% |
Grade Distribution: Grade %
A 93-100
B 85-92
C 75-84
D 65-74
F 0-64
Syllabus Supplement for Faculty
H1N1 Preparation and Planning
Radford University Students: Novel H1N1 Flu: Virus Information
Novel influenza A (H1N1) is a new flu virus of swine origin that first caused illness in Mexico and the United States in March and April, 2009. It’s thought that novel influenza A (H1N1) flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread, mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus, but it may also be spread by touching infected objects and then touching your nose or mouth. Novel H1N1 infection has been reported to cause a wide range of flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. In addition, many people also have reported nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.
As you may know, flu can be spread easily from person to person. Therefore, steps are being taken to prevent the spread of flu at Radford University for as long as possible, but we need your help to accomplish this.
We are working closely with the regional and Commonwealth of Virginia health departments to monitor flu conditions and make decisions about the best steps to take concerning our institution. We will keep you updated with new information as it becomes available to us through links through your course faculty member using various virtual communication portals.
For now, we are doing everything we can to keep our institution operating as usual. The following information is provided by the Center for Disease control including general preventative care that you can take to lessen the impact of the flu season on the campus:
Over the next few weeks you will see additional hand sanitization stations in many Radford University academic buildings, residence halls, food service locations, computer labs, and student centers. We encourage you to use the hand sanitizers frequently and especially when you are working at computer stations or using restroom facilities. Remember, hand sanitizers do not replace hand washing with soap and water.
If you become ill please access the Student Health Web Site through the RU Portal for detailed information and guidance from the Student Health Center.
Preparedness Guidelines for Students
Web page at
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends several actions that may keep you from getting sick with the flu:
1. Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder; not into your hands.
3. Stay home or at your place of residence if you are sick for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen). Staying away from others while sick can prevent others from getting sick too. Ask a roommate, friend, or family member to check up on you and to bring you food and supplies if needed.
4. Frequently clean your living quarters. If you live together with other students, you should frequently clean commonly-used surfaces such as doorknobs, refrigerator handles, remote controls, computer keyboards, countertops, faucet handles, and bathroom areas.
5. Talk to your health care provider or the RU student health center to find out if you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu and/or 2009 H1N1 flu. This is especially important if you are at higher risk from complications from influenza viruses.
Additional information on the web:
• Information about 2009 H1N1 flu vaccination can be found at: h1n1flu/vaccination.
• Information about seasonal flu vaccine can be found at:
• More expanded information about influenza is available at this site:
• Find out how CDC is using social networking sites at SocialMedia/Tools/SocialNetworking.html
• Find out more about CDC's use of online videos at SocialMedia/Tools/OnlineVideo.html
• To listen to CDC podcasts on novel H1N1 flu and how handwashing can help stop the spread of infection and help you stay healthy. Podcasts can be accessed directly from the CDC Web site, or you can download audio and/or video podcasts to your desktop and portable music/video player for health information at your convenience and on the go. Learn more about podcasts at CDC visit SocialMedia/Tools/Podcasts.html
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