Education 475-4 Designs for Learnin
g
: Mathematics
(Elementary/Secondary)
Summer Semester, 1985 ?
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Tom O'Shea
Tuesdays, 1:00 -4:50 ?
LOCATION: MPX 8620
OBJECTIVES:
The course is designed for prospective and practising teachers who wish to
explore the fundamentals of the teaching/learning process as it applies to
secondary mathematics.
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 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has suggested:
Prospective teachers of mathematics at any level should know and
understand mathematics substantially beyond that which they may
be expected to teach. They should be able to relate that mathematics
to the world of their pupils, to the Inatural sciences, and to the
social sciences. They should also be aware of the role of mathematics
in our culture.
The focus of Education 475-4 will be on relating mathematics to the world
of the students. The course will include investigations into the school
curriculum, identification of valuable topics "outside" the curriculum,
demonstrations of varying approaches to teaching specific topics, exposure
to resources for remediation and enrichment, and opportunities for students
to round out their own mathematics background.
RE QU liRE ME NTS
Students may be expected to:
- participate fully
in
classwork and discussions
- make one or more class presentations
- submit an assignment related to mathematics education journals
- submit an assignment related to the B.C. curriculum and textbooks
- complete a project related to the history of mathematics
- complete an individual project
TEXT REQUIRED:
Posamentier, A.S. & Stepelman, J. Teaching Secondary School Mathematics
Charles E. Merrill, (1981)
ELEMENTARY COURSE DESCRIPTION:
flR.IFCT
I
vFc•
The course is designed for prospective and practising elementar
y
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
1
I01/
1
02 or equivalent.
TEXTBOOK:
Troutman, A.P. & Lichtenberg, B.K. Mathematics: A good beginning (2nd ed.).
Belmont, California: Wadsworth, 1982.