Section 1: Tuesday, 4:45-7:25, Harrington Hall 205
Instructor: Heidi Burgiel,
hburgiel@bridgew.edu, (508) 531-1430
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:00-3:00 Math Services AAC, Tuesday
3:00-4:00 223 Hart Hall and by appointment
Course web page: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/hburgiel/HS422/
Course Description: Strategies, including methods, materials and media for teaching mathematics are studied. Developing competency and versatility is stressed through simulations, teaching analyses and observation.
In order to take advantage of anticipated diversity of student experience and philosophy, this course will as often as possible be presented in seminar or discussion format. The typical class session will consist of four parts:
Topic of the Day: Students present
and discuss practical concerns about teaching.
Teaching Practice: Students
participate in mock teaching exercises covering different topic areas
of the Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks.
Teaching Theory: Students share
and discuss research results in mathematics education.
Mathematics Content: Students engage in a short lesson or
activity illustrating some area of mathematics.
Grades for the course will be determined as follows:
Portfolio, due 10/24/06 and 12/8/06: Twice during the semester you will submit a portfolio of samples of your coursework. In assembling your portfolio you will reflect on your work during the semester. You will be assessed on the quality of your observations of your work.
Field Experience Report, due 12/15/06: Write a 4-6 page report relating one incident you observed or were involved with during your field experience (classroom observation) for this class. The purpose of this report is to assess your Disposition or Professional Conduct toward your students and (if possible) to provide evidence of your influence on Student Learning. (Reports which describe students learning from the classroom teacher you are observing are also acceptable.) In addition you will of course be graded on grammar, spelling and presentation.
Class Participation: Ideally, the majority of time in class should be spent in discussion. Attendance at and participation in the class are crucial to the success of this course. Please try to remain alert and involved despite late hours and busy schedules. In addition, the usual rules of courtesy apply; please turn cell phones off and refrain from discussing subjects other than mathematics teaching.
For each Teaching Theory paper there will be a thread on the Blackboard Discussion Board. Part of your class participation will be to post one question about the article and one response to a question by midnight on Monday of the week the paper is to be discussed.
Make-up work: A large part of the grade depends on scheduled presentations to the class. Failing to attend a class at which one is scheduled to make a presentation is comparable to failing to attend a class at which one is expected to teach. If you are absolutely unable to make a scheduled presentation, please notify the instructor in advance and also try to arrange a "substitute" presenter. Due to the nature of the assignments, it is more likely to be possible to make up work missed early in the semester.
Materials: Pencil and paper will be required for in-class exercises. Students may need ruler, compass, protractor, graph paper, colored pencils, scientific calculator or computer for mock teaching exercises; presenters are requested to announce in advance if they wish students to bring extra materials for their teaching exercise.
Office hours: I will be available during these hours for consultation on a first-come-first-served basis. You do not need an appointment in advance. In addition, many brief matters can be handled directly after class. If you are unable to attend the scheduled office hours you can schedule appointments at some other time.
I will check my email frequently and try to respond in a timely manner. If you miss class, please do not email me asking what you missed; you can either attend my office hours or contact a fellow student to learn what went on during class.
Additional help: The Educational Resources Center on the second floor of the Maxwell Library should meet most of your needs. The world wide web has many good resources for teachers (and likely even more bad resources). I've collected a few of these resources in a web page of useful links.
Academic integrity: The Academic Integrity Policy will be enforced in this class as described in the student handbook.