*MON FRASER UNIVERSITY

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Summer Semester 2002

EDUC415 -4

Peter Li!jedahl

Designs for Learning:

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Office: EDB 7511

Secondary Mathematics

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Phone: 291-4117

Thursday 17:30-21:20 in EDB 8651/2

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E01.00

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Email: pglsfu.ca

PREREQUISITE

EDUC 401/402.

Enrolment in EDUC 411 - Investigations/ Secondary Mathematics is strongly encouraged.

DESCRIPTION

The mathematics curriculum in British Columbia has undergone major changes in recent years. The

revised curriculum includes new topics such as data analysis, probability, vectors, and matrices.

Other topics, such as geometry, are given greater emphasis than in the past. All students are

expected to own and use a scientific calculator and graphing calculator. Teachers are encouraged to

use manipulative materials in group settings as a major vehicle for learning.

The course is designed for prospective and practising secondary school teachers who wish to explore

the fundamentals of the learning/ teaching process as it applies to mathematics. The course will

draw on the latest research in mathematics learning, and will show how such findings may be used

in the classroom. Students will be expected to become familiar with and confident in the use of a

variety of manipulative materials as well as various electronic based resources (internet, software,

calculators). They will also explore the realities of mathematical learning by examining their own

learning powers and patterns. On completion of the course it is hoped that participants will feel

more at ease with the subject of mathematics, be able to deal confidently with the prescribed

curriculum, and be able to plan mathematical instruction within a consistent framework.

REQUIREMENTS

Students will be expected to attend all classes, and to participate fully in classwork and discussions.

Specific assignments will depend on the number and backgrounds of students enrolled in the course.

Assignments given in previous years include the following:

• a problem-solving assignment in which students keep a journal to record their efforts over a

period of time

• an assignment related to the secondary textbooks used in British Columbia

• an assignment that requires students to examine a number of professional journals related to the

teaching of mathematics

• a presentation to the class demonstrating an idea, activity, or technique for teaching mathematics

• a lesson development assignment related to the B.C. Integrated Resource Package (IRP) for

Mathematics

• a project related to his or her own interests, as negotiated with the instructor

REQUIRED TEXT

Poamentier, A. & Stepelman, J

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(1999). Teaching Secondary Mathematics: Techniques and Enrichment

Units (5th edition). Merrill - Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, NJ.