Education 475-4

FALL, 1983

Thursdays, 4:30 - 8:30

(RIFCT I IFc.

Designs for Learning: Mathematics

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Tom O'Shea

Office: MPX 9616

Telephone: 291-4453

LOCATION: on campus

The course is designed for prospective and practising elementary school teachers

who wish to explore the fundamentals of the learning/teaching process as it

applies to mathematics. Students are expected to:

- become familiar with and confident in the use of a variety of

manipulative aids such as colored rods, logic blocks, geo-boards,

and so on;

- engage in discussion and formulate their own rationale as to the

how and why of teaching mathematics;

- explore the realities of children's and adult's learning powers and

patterns by an examination of their own learning powers and patterns.

On completion of the course it is hoped that teachers 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.

OUTLINE OF TOPICS:

The topics to be dealt with are the usual contents of the B.C. Curriculum which

will be examined from a methodological perspective (how do you teach multiplication,

fractions, etc.), from the viewpoint of mathematics (what is multiplication, what

are fractions, etc.), and from the vantage point of the role of mathematics in

everyone's general growth (eg. integration with other subjects).

TYPICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Students will be expected to:

- participate fully in classwork and discussions, and complete homework

assignments;

- make one or more presentations demonstrating an idea, activity, or

technique for teaching mathematics;

- examine and analyze the B.C. Mathematics curriculum and representative

textbooks.

ELIGIBILITY: Education 401/402 or equivalent.

TEXTBOOK:

Troutman, A.P. & Lichtenberg, B.K. Mathematics: A good beginning (2nd ed.).

Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1982.