Syllabus Math 303 for Spring 2010

Any student with disabilities or other special needs are encouraged to share these concerns or requests as soon as possible.

INSTRUCTOR: Timothy Peil
TEXT:  A Problem Solving Approach to Mathematics for Elementary Teachers by Billstein, Libeskind & Lott, 10th Edition.
OFFICE:  MacLean 375 V.
PHONE: 218-477-2454
E-mail:  peil@mnstate.edu
WEB HOMEPAGE: http://web.mnstate.edu/peil
OFFICE HOURS:  MTWHF 10:30–11:20;  TH 12:00–2:20.

OUTLINE:  We will discuss all or portions of chapters 1–8 and work with manipulatives such as the Dienes' Blocks (multi-base blocks).

GENERAL INFORMATION:   Read the text and be able to work any of the exercises. You may need to work more problems than are assigned.
        An Arithmetic Gateway Exam must be passed by the end of the semester with a score of 25 out of 29 to receive an A, B, or C. Failure to pass an Arithmetic Gateway Exam by the end of the semester will result in a maximum grade of D. After passing an Arithmetic Gateway Exam, grades will be determined from labs (attendance required for a lab score), collected assignments, quizzes, hour exams, and the final exam. After passing an Arithmetic Gateway Exam, grades will be assigned in the following manner:

A-/A:  90–100%
B-/B/B+:  80–89%
C/C+:  70–79%
D-/D/D+:  60–69%
F:  below 60%

        No makeup exams will be given!!!!   Exceptions for exams will be made on a case by case basis,  i.e. only in cases of extreme illness, family emergency, or university-approved activities.  You must notify me before the exam takes place, and provide documentation, such as a receipt from the doctor, before taking the exam.

GENERAL COMMENTS:
This course is a content and concepts course—it is not a teaching methods course—for students majoring in early childhood, elementary education, or special education. It is part of the sequence: Math 303 and 304. The prerequisite is Math 102.

Goals for the course, besides the topics from the text, include:
(1)  Become familiar with teaching materials such as Dienes Blocks, and other manipulative materials.
(2)  Become familiar with some of the models used for teaching mathematical concepts and algorithms in the elementary school mathematics curriculum.

A teacher of elementary mathematics must be able to do much more than a few arithmetic operations. The teacher must understand and be able to explain the underlying concepts. The teacher must be able to adjust to new situations and recognize when a student is using a correct method, though the method may be different from one the teacher uses. The teacher needs to be able to use correct language, terminology, notation and symbolism. Mathematics is many things, including the ideas of mathematics as a language and mathematics as a way of thinking (problem solving).

Concepts must be understood and some basic ideas must be memorized. A teacher should not have students memorize everything without understanding; similarly, a teacher should not have students just learning concepts without setting a foundation for students to advance to the next step. A balance between memorization and conceptual understanding must be attained. How to do this and finding the correct balance are difficult questions, which a teacher should always be reassessing during the teacher's career.

An elementary teacher must love to learn all subjects since an elementary teacher is a generalist that teaches many different subject areas. Please do not discourage students by passing on your own dislikes for particular subjects.

Calculators and computers are excellent tools when used properly. Too often in education, students are allowed to use calculators or computers, but are not taught their proper use. Students need to be taught to use the appropriate tool for the appropriate task. A student should be taught to do simple computations such as 34+25 mentally, as well as to mentally compute an estimation of the solution expected from a calculator or computer. A calculator should be used for more complicated computations such as 5.98 times 75.3 though a mental estimate should be made. A computer should be used for repetitive operations such as accounting or computing a sequence of numbers involving several operations.
Consider the following analogy:

I will use my thumb to push a tack into a bulletin board,
a regular hammer to pound a nail into a wall to hang a picture,
a sledge hammer to pound a pipe into the ground, and
some type of staple gun, power hammer or pile driver in the construction of a building.
I would not use a pile driver to push a small tack into a bulletin board.
So why use a calculator or computer to compute 3+4? Teach students to discriminate between the tools—use the appropriate tool for the appropriate task.  Another analogy:
 
I will use a teaspoon to till a flower pot,
a spade to till a flower bed,
a tiller to till a garden,
and a tractor and plow to till a field.
I will not drive a tractor and plow into my house to till a flower pot.
Timothy Peil (1995)

Learn to use the appropriate tool—mind, paper-and-pencil, calculator, or computer.
No calculators will be permitted for this course!!!

You may want to refer to the  Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards in Mathematics at http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Academic_Excellence/Academic_Standards/Mathematics/index.html.

MSUM Teacher Education Conceptual Framework

The following are required to be on the syllabus by MnSCU.

Where and when is class?  MWF -9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30, or 1:30 p.m.. in MacLean 269.

Prerequiste: CCGE119 or Math 102 or Math 234 or Math 236.

Course Description from the Minnesota State University Moorhead Bulletin. Math 303 Foundations of Number Systems (3 credits) Sets; systems of numeration; whole number, integer, and rational number operations and properties. Particularly appropriate for early childhood, elementary, and special education majors. This course does not apply to the mathematics major or minor requirements. Please carefully read the "Prerequisite Statement" at the beginning of this section. Prerequiste CCGE119 or Math 102 or Math 234 or Math 236

E1 – Mathematics Student Learning Outcomes 
http://web.mnstate.edu/math/MathStudentLearningOutcomes.htm

Attendance Policy. http://web.mnstate.edu/sthandbook/POLICY/index.htm
http://web.mnstate.edu/math/MSUMAbsencePolicy.htm  
http://web.mnstate.edu/bring/AcademicDishonesty.htm

Academic Honesty.  http://web.mnstate.edu/sthandbook/POLICY/index.htm
http://web.mnstate.edu/math/MSUMAcademicHonestyPolicy.htm
http://web.mnstate.edu/bring/AcademicDishonesty.htm

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