MATHEMATICS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
MATH170 SYLLABUS AUTUMN,
2008
Instructor: Dr. Virginia M. Warfield (a.k.a.
Ginger Warfield)
Office: Padelford C-437
Phone: 543-7445(office);
E-mail address: warfield@math.washington.edu
Office Hours: Mondays, after class in the classroom; Wednesdays 2:15-
3:15. If neither of these times works for you, e-mail me, or see me
brieflyafter class, and we will set up another time. I’m happy to do that.
TA: Mauricio Duarte
E-mail address:
Office:
Office hours:
Textbook: Reasoning
about Numbers and Quantities, by Sowder, Sowder and Nickerson, available
from the University Bookstore
Course
web page: http://faculty.washington.edu/warfield/Math_170/Home_Page.html
Course
goals: I operate
on the hypothesis that if you enrolled for this course, you are either definitely
or potentially interested in becoming an Elementary School teacher. If that is
the case, then you are heading out into a world where a tremendous amount of
change is in the process of occurring. To me, the most exciting aspect of
the change is that elementary mathematics is no longer being regarded as a
collection of computational skills, but rather as a rich body of intellectual
content which includes computation as a tool, but focuses far more on
understanding and communication and reasoning. Obviously, such a change
has deep implications for all present and future teachers. Essentially
everything we do in this course -- the content, the format and the assessment
-- is designed to help you get your bearings in this new scene.
Note: What we do in class is an
essential constituent of what you are learning, since communication and
understanding each other's reasoning can only happen here. Regular attendance
is an indispensable element of classroom participation. Please do not take this
constituent lightly.
Course components and
grading:
Most class days you will
have a group product to turn in. For course credit, you need to turn in at least
80% of them.
There will be homework
almost every night. It needs to be turned in promptly and neatly, and to be
carefully written up. The introduction to the book has a nice discussion of
what this means and why it is important. We will choose some problems to grade
carefully; others will be more lightly read (we’ll let you know which is which).
Homework that comes in more than one class period late will receive a maximum
of half credit. For course credit you need an overall 80% of homework credit.
There will be a midterm
in late October and a final exam on Monday, December 8. For course credit, you must pass
both.
To give you a chance
to check on your state of understanding, several times during the quarter I
plan to give a mini-quiz during the last 20 minutes of class. For these you
will not be conferring with your group they will be just your own work. If a
quiz goes well, you will simply get credit for it. If it reveals what appears
to be a gap in your understanding, then to get credit you will have to come
talk it over with Mauricio or me, and probably do a little fill-in work. Then
well all know that you’ve got it. You’ll need credit on all of those.
There will be two
short papers, one reflecting on your mathematical background and one on
Zaslavski’s Fear of Math book. You’ll need credit for both.
There will be one required
project, with a
choice of two or three versions:
a) Tutor for the
Pipeline Project and keep a journal. Details for this will be given in class on
Wednesday, October 1
b and c are still in the
works. One will be a Math Fair and one will be a book or video group discussion
and write-up.
Website note: In an effort to reduce profligacy in paper use, all
assignments and various notes will appear on the class website. I will
generally write them on the board and/or discuss them in class, but I will only
rarely make hard copies. The website will also occasionally have corrections
and clarifications, so be sure to check in on it pretty regularly.