Instructor: Heidi Burgiel, hburgiel@bridgew.edu
Office Hours (tentative): Conant 453. Tuesday 3:30-4:30, Wednesday 10:00-11:00, Thursday 12:30-1:30 and by appointment.
This course develops students' understanding of the mathematical concepts of number and operations, and the properties of number systems at the deep level required for successful elementary school teaching in ways that are meaningful to pre-service elementary teachers. Topics will include place value and arithmetic models, mental math, algorithms, prealgebra factors and prime numbers, fractions and decimals, ratio, percentage and rate, integers and elementary number theory. This course satisfies the Foundations of Mathematical Reasoning core requirement (CMAR)
"To decide whether the methods or ideas of your students are right or wrong and be able to explain to the students why is one of the most important aspects of teaching." -- Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary Teachers
Materials: For this class you will need
Text: Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary Teachers Sixth Edition,
Activities Manual: Mathematical Activities for Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary School Teachers Sixth Edition,
Online Resources: MyMathLab from Pearson Publishing, Moodle.
General: Laptop computer, three ring binder, blank paper, colored pencils, ruler, calculator (not on a phone), graph paper.
Grades: Course grades will be weighted as follows:
Activators and Ticket-to-leave: 10%
Homework (Moodle and MyMathLab): 15%
Assignments: 15%
CSA's: 15%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Group participation: 4% (best 2 of 3)
Class participation: 2%
Final Exam: 24%
Exam information:
Tuesday/Thursday final: Tuesday, December 17, 2:00-4:00 Conant 463
Monday/Wednesday final: Wednesday, December 18, 11:00-1:00 Conant 440
The midterm will be on Tuesday, October 22 or Wednesday, October 23. Group work will account for 20% of your midterm exam score.
Class Participation: Your participation will be assessed by your group members based on a rubric (posted on Moodle) and by me. In order to work together, we have to be present together. If you know that you will be absent, let me know so that I can take that into consideration in lesson planning.
Office hours: I will be available during these hours on a first-come-first-served basis; no appointment is necessary. Also, much can be handled by email or before or after class; in special cases we can schedule appointments at other times.
Activators and Ticket to Leave: These are mini-quizzes to assess your understanding of the homework, set the stage for a day's work, or sum up what you've learned in class. They are leniently graded on a scale of 0 to 3, cannot be made up, and the lowest three grades are dropped.
Homework: Much of your homework will not be turned in for a grade, but you and your group members will need to have done it to prepare for the day's class. Homework to be graded will be submitted electronically through MyMathLab and Moodle. MyMathLab homework is scheduled through MyMathLab. Moodle homework will be announced at the end of class and posted on Moodle.
MyMathLab is an online course management system similar to Moodle or Blackboard. We will only be using its online homework, which is aligned with your textbook. If you encounter difficulties with MyMathLab, email me immediately or use the "ask my instructor" button so that I know something is wrong.
Assignments: You will complete two major assignments, due October 9/10 and December 2/3. You may also be asked to reflect on the following questions: What permanent benefit am I supposed to get out of this exercise? Did I get it? Why and why not?
All assignments will be graded on a rubric which will be posted on Moodle. Make sure that you refer to the rubric as you complete the assignments. Turn in your assignments through Moodle by midnight on the date they are due.
Class Synthesis and Analysis: To provide the class with materials to study from and to encourage you to reflect on your lessons, you are required to publish analyses of two class periods. Dates, a description, and a rubric for this assignment are posted on Moodle. Be sure to refer to the rubric as you work on your CSA.
Your first analysis will be assessed by one of your peers, after which you are encouraged to revise and resubmit it. Conversely, you will be required to assess another student's CSA using the worksheet provided. Your comments can help raise another student's grade; please be courteous and thorough.
Academic integrity: Respect your ideas and those of others. You may use appropriate resources on any homework or assignment, but must clearly credit the authors and cite your sources. Although I encourage you to work with your peers, the final submission must be your own thinking and work. Violations of this expectation will be handled in accordance with BSU's Academic Integrity Policy.
Students with disabilities: If you have a diagnosed disability which will make it difficult for you to carry out the course work, please contact me during the first two weeks of class to discuss reasonable accommodations.
Math services: Mathematics Services (http://my.bridgew.edu/Departments/MathServices/) provides free tutoring on a walk-in basis. It is located in the basement of Maxwell Library.