EDU 444 – Methods/Materials: Middle Grades Education

SECTION MSP4, 2 CREDIT HOURS, Spring 2006

  Thursdays, 6:00-9:00pm

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Carol Lawrence

OFFICE 114 Braswell

OFFICE HOURS MWF 8:30-10:00am or by apt.

OFFICE PHONE 985-5183

BUILDING AND ROOM PC274

WEB SITE http://faculty.ncwc.edu/clawrence/

EMAIL clawrence@ncwc.edu

TEXT: Teaching Mathematics for the 21st Century-Methods and Activities for Grades 6-12, Second Edition, Linda Huetinck and Sara N. Munshin, John Wiley &Sons, 2001.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is designed for the middle grades teacher. Process and content are emphasized. Teaching strategies, techniques, and learning activities for the middle grades mathematics content are discussed. Students will demonstrate teaching techniques.

OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE: Students who successfully complete EDU 444 will

    1. Develop knowledge in the processes of conceptual development in the middle grades mathematics curriculum.
    2. Develop knowledge of various strategies for teaching mathematics.
    3. Demonstrate skill in writing lesson plans for teaching mathematics concepts.
    4. Demonstrate the ability to use manipulatives to illustrate mathematical concepts.
    5. Demonstrate problem-solving skills.
    6. Demonstrate the ability to communicate thinking concerning mathematical concepts and pedagogy.
    7. Demonstrate the ability to assess student understanding of mathematical concepts.
    8. Summarize and discuss in-classroom applications of various articles from professional journals and other sources.
    9. Become knowledgeable of current mathematics education research and trends.
    10. Become knowledgeable of various mathematics education resources.

COURSE OVERVIEW: This course is designed to help you help students understand mathematical concepts. . Learning mathematics is a vibrant, active and interactive, ongoing process. This holds true for learning to teach mathematics also. As you study how students learn mathematics and ways you can facilitate this learning, you will begin developing your own philosophy for teaching mathematics based on these understandings. As you gain experience working with students, you will want to reflect upon your philosophy and revise it when warranted. This course will help you develop the foundation you need for designing, reflecting upon, and redesigning appropriate mathematics instruction and assessment. Your philosophy of teaching and how students learn will influence your effectiveness in the classroom and the attitudes of your students toward mathematics.

ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend every class. We cover many concepts in a short period of time, so you will want to stay current on all material and activities. The college policy for attendance will be followed closely, i.e. 2 unexcused absences will result in the student being dropped from the course. See p. 65 of the 2005-06

College Catalogue. No make-up tests will be given for unexcused absences.

GRADING:

Two Exams (100 pts. Each)

200 pts.
  Homework/In-Class Assignments 25 pts.
  Direct Lesson Plan with Presentation 100 pts.
  Inquiry/Discovery Lesson Plan with Presentation 100 pts.
  Article Reviews/Clinical Experience 75 pts.

Course Grade:

A --------------- 450 to 500 pts

B --------------- 400 to 449 pts

C --------------- 350 to 399 pts

D --------------- 300 to 349 pts

F ---------------- Below 300 pts

Cheating and Plagiarism: A scholar is characterized by his/her honesty and fairness. Therefore, a scholar neither gives nor receives "information illicitly with intent to deceive the instructor in his or her effort to grade fairly any academic work" (NCWC 2005-2006 Catalog, p. 68-69). Also, a scholar does not take credit for someone's work without giving credit to the creator. The violation of these principles is academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated. The instructor will adhere strictly to the plagiarism and cheating policy as stated in the catalog on pages 64-65.

NCCTM Central and Eastern Region Conference, Meredith College, Raleigh, NC, Saturday, Feb. 25

Professional development plays an important role in your growth as a teacher. I encourage you to attend this NCCTM regional conference on teaching mathematics. For attending this conference and reporting orally about your experiences, two points will be added to your semester grade in this course.

Disability Support Services:

Students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Support Services (DSS) at 985-5269 as soon as possible to coordinate and implement accommodations in a timely fashion. The Office of DSS is located the Student Support Center, PC 188.

Wesleyan’s Writing Lab:

To find out more about Wesleyan’s writing lab, go to Wesleyan homepage, http://www.ncwc.edu/

Click on the site index in the top blue bar.

Click on Writing Lab found in the gold box at the left.

You can find a wealth of information about the writing lab at this location. Several useful tools can be found under Resources and Appointments. You may find the Writing Handouts under Resources to be helpful. You may also find Ask a Question and Email Your Paper under Appointments to be helpful. The writing lab is open until 6:00pm weekdays. Students can schedule an appointment by signing up in the lab or by calling the lab at 985-5325.

Email and Campus Cruiser:

During the semester I may email you information about the course. If you are not familiar with email through Wesleyan’s Campus Cruiser, follow these instructions: Go to the Wesleyan homepage, http://www.ncwc.edu; click on Student Technology Information; under Your Campus Cruiser Account, click on How to Get Your Campus Cruiser Login ID; print and follow the directions. Once you have done this, it is possible to go into Campus Cruiser and set up email forwarding to another email address.

Cell phones;

Cell phones should be turned off prior to class. They should not be seen nor heard during class. The professor does not permit the use of cell phones as calculators.

** It is important that you carefully read each chapter and complete the assigned exercises prior to the day it is to be discussed in class. You will be expected to contribute to the day’s discussion based upon your prior reading.

***Your exams are Take Home Exams. What I will do each week is provide you with a set of Multiple Choice Questions for you to complete as you read the text material. Exam 1 will consist of the first 6 sets of Multiple Choice Questions on the first 6 chapters of the text and some essay questions I will provide the week before Exam 1 is due. The schedule contains due dates for the Multiple Choice Questions. You may talk to me concerning the Multiple Choice Questions and/or the essay questions on the exam. You are not to discuss these with anyone other than me.


 

EDU 444- Methods/Materials:  Middle Grades Education  

DATE

CHAPTER

TOPIC

1/12

1

History and Introduction to Mathematics Education Reform

Homework:  p. 8, Set 1.1, Discussion Question 3

                      p. 14, Set 1.2, Discussion Question 1

                      p. 26, Set 1.3, Discussion Question 1

 

2

Learning, Motivation, and Basic Management Skills

Homework:  p. 40, Set 2.1, Discussion Question 5

                      p. 51, Set 2.3,  Discussion Question 5

                      p. 53, Set 2.4, Discussion Question 3

                      p. 56, Set 2.5, Discussion Question 3

1/19

3

Concrete to Abstract With Tools, Manipulatives, Computer Programs, and Calculators

Homework:  p. 79, Set 3.1, Discussion Question 1

                      p. 90, Set 3.2, Discussion Question 1

                      p. 104, Set 3.3, Discussion Question 3

Article Review due (Mathematics for Middle Grades).

Multiple Choice Questions on Ch. 1, 2 due.

 

4

Standards-Based Curricula With Sample Lessons

Homework:  p. 141, Set 4.4, Discussion Question 1

1/26

5

Geometry and Algebra Redefined

Homework:  p. 162, Set 5.1, Discussion Question 2

                      p. 182, Set 5.4, Discussion Question 1

Article Review due (James Otto and the Pi Man and The

Role of Definition ).

Multiple Choice Questions on Ch. 3, 4 due.

 

6

Planning Instruction

Homework:  p. 210, Set 6.2, Discussion Question 4

                      p. 215, Set 6.3, Discussion Question 2

Exam 1-chapters 1 through 6 (Take Home)

2/2

7

Promoting Communication in the Classroom

Multiple Choice Questions on Ch. 5, 6 due.

Exam 1 due

 

8

Assessing Individual Student Performance

 Direct Lesson Plan due

2/9

 

Oral Presentations of  Direct Lesson Plans

Multiple Choice Questions on Ch. 7, 8 due.

2/16

9

Student Equity

Article Review due (Uncovering Bias in the Classroom)

 

10

Focus on Performance Assessment

2/23

11

Communicating With Parents and Community

Inquiry/Discovery Lesson Plan due

Multiple Choice Questions on Ch. 9, 10 due.

 

12

 Professional Growth

Exam 2-chapters 7 through 12 (Take Home)

3/2

 

Oral Presentations of Inquiry/Discovery Lesson Plans

Multiple choice Questions on Ch. 11, 12 due.

Exam 2 due

Last updated by clawrence@ncwc.edu on 01/23/06
Copyright © Carol Lawrence - All Rights Reserved