Section 003: Monday and Wednesday, 1:50-3:05, Conant 463
Section 004: Monday and Wednesday, 3:20-4:35, Conant 463
Instructor: Heidi Burgiel, hburgiel@bridgew.edu
Office Hours: Conant 453 Mon. 11-12, Tues. 3:30-4:30,
Weds. 10:30-11:30 and by appointment.
Course web site: http://webhost.bridgew.edu/hburgiel/MA113/
Course Description: This course develops students' understanding of the mathematical content of patterns, functions and algebra at the deep level required for successful elementary school teaching in ways that are meaningful to pre-service elementary teachers. Topics will include concepts of variable and function; linear, quadratic and exponential functions and their graphs; patterns, arithmetic and geometric progressions; solving equations and applications. Connections between arithmetic and algebra will be emphasized.
Prerequisites: MATH107 or MATH112.
Restricted to majors in Early Childhood, Elementary and Special Education
This course satisfies the Foundations of Mathematical Reasoning core requirement (CMAR).
"It's tempting to view the good teacher's job as chewing up the knowledge into morsels small enough for the students to swallow. But the real goal is for students to develop skills and attitudes that will allow them to independently think through the complications of life and find ways to learn for themselves."
--E.B. Burger and M. Starbird (2012) The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking (pp. 92-93)
Materials:
Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary Teachers Sixth Edition,
scissors, tape, pencil, paper, laptop.
Optional: Algeblocks kit, Seeking Patterns, Building Rules Student Book.
Grades: Course grades will be weighted as follows:
Exams: There will be two in class midterms and a final exam. Twenty percent of your grade on each exam will be based on a half hour group exam. The remaining eighty percent of the exam grade will depend on individual work done during the remaining 45 minutes of the class period.
Midterms will be held on October 15 and November 14
October 3 and November 7.
Final Exams will be held:
Section 003 M/W 1:50-3:05: 12/17/12 11:00-1:00
Section 004 M/W 3:20-4:35: 12/17/12, 2:00-4:00
Late work and missed exams: I do not proctor make-up exams or quizzes outside of office hours. Late work will only be accepted up to one week past the due date, with a 5% deduction in grade for each day it's late. At the end of the semester there may be an opportunity to redo and resubmit one assignment together with an analysis of your errors and improvements.
You will have a chance to improve your grade by resubmitting your first CSA within a week of when it is graded. There will be no resubmissions for the 2nd CSA.
Attendance: You are permitted to miss a maximum of three classes; more than three absences will affect your grade.
Participation: Learning is an active, not passive, endeavor. Please turn cell phones off, refrain from discussing subjects other than mathematics, and if you must leave early please notify me in advance and sit near an exit. You will be assigned to three different groups during the course of the semester. Each group will evaluate your participation, and the best two out of three evaluations will contribute 4% to your final grade. Your professor will also assign you a class participation grade, worth 2% of your final grade.
Activators and TTL: At the beginning of most lessons, you will complete a quick Activator question individually. The question may be a problem to solve, a reflection on something you did for homework, a review question from earlier in the semester, a question that you want to ask your classmates, etc.
At the end of most lessons, you will complete a Ticket-To-Leave activity individually or with your group. The TTL may be a problem to solve, a reflection on something we did in class, a question that you want to ask your classmates during our next meeting, etc.
Activators and TTLs will be graded on a 3-point scale (check minus, check, check plus). If you are late, miss class, or have to leave early, you will miss the activator and/or TTL. There are absolutely no make-up activators or TTLs.
Homework: Homework assignments in this class are short and due next class period. Some will be turned in on paper but most will be submitted through Moodle. Homework may also include viewing and reflecting on videos, using e-manipulatives, or other activities.
Assignments: Throughout the semester you will complete three major assignments including a Letter to the Parent, an Analysis of a Strategy, and an Analysis of a Model. The due dates for these assignments are on the schedule web page.
On all assignments, answer 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 online. Make sure that you refer to the rubric as you complete the assignments.
CSA: Each student is responsible for producing a "Class Summary and Analysis" of two classes during the semester. These summaries will be posted on the Moodle site to help all students review the class and study for exams. CSA's are due one week after the class being analyzed; they will be graded according to a rubric posted on Moodle.
The professor will assign the dates on which you are responsible for the CSA. You may trade dates with your classmates, but you must inform me of any trades or you will not receive credit for your CSA.
Office hours: I will be available during these hours 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 and in special cases we can schedule appointments at other times. I also check email frequently.
Academic integrity: The Academic Integrity Policy will be enforced in this class.