Educ 6010 Summer 2003

A Math Content Refresher Course for Elementary School Teachers

Instructor: Gary R. Jensen, Professor of Mathematics, Washington University. Professor Jensen regularly teaches the undergraduate math content course for elementary education majors.

Dates: June 16 - June 27, 2003.

Times: 9 am - 12 noon, Monday - Friday.

Where: 199 Cupples I, Washington University Campus.

Requirements: At the time of registration in the first class meeting, you should submit three topics of special concern to you. The topics should be chosen from what you would expect to be covered by the syllabus proposed below. These concerns can range from a desire to find fresh approaches to presenting a mathematics idea in the classroom to a desire to clarify your own understanding of the idea. During the course, as your listed topics are covered, you will write lesson plans for presenting them in your classroom. The written plans may go through several revisions in consultation with Professor Jensen. The lesson plan should articulate the learning goals and describe the classroom approach that will be used, provide sample materials to be used by students, and include notes on how learning will be assessed. You will then present to the class a ten to fifteen minute version of one topic from your completed plans. You will have until Thursday, July 3, to turn in your final written plans.

Structure: Instruction, supervised work on exercises, presentations by enrolled students. No work outside of class other than reading of the text and preparation of the written lesson plans for the three topics submitted at the beginning of the course.

Credits: 3 graduate credits. Grade will be based on class participation, a presentation and the written lesson plans for the three topics submitted at the beginning of the course.

Registration fee: $200, collected first class day.

Text: The text will be provided.

Course description: This is a Math Content course covering selected topics from the K-8 curriculum. Emphasis will be on understanding the concepts, how to explain the concepts and how to explain applications of the concepts to the solution of problems. The pace and choice of topics can be adjusted to the needs of the class.

Syllabus:

  1. 6/16. Fractions of things.
  2. 6/17. Fractions as numbers.
  3. 6/18. Addition and subtraction of fractions.
  4. 6/19. Multiplication and division of fractions.
  5. 6/20. Ratio and Proportion.
  6. 6/23. Decimal Expansions.
  7. 6/24. Arithmetic of decimals.
  8. 6/25. Percents and compound interest.
  9. 6/26. Repeating decimals.
  10. 6/27. Infinite, nonrepeating decimals.

Alternate topics:


Gary Jensen
Last modified: Sun Mar 23 09:41:00 CST 2003