44575 Garfield, Clinton Township, MI 48038

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1 Division: Teacher Education Program Area: Mathematics Education Course #: ELE 6390 Course Title: Mathematics Instruction: Preprimary-8 Section #: Term/Year: Course Location: Day: Monday University Center at Macomb Garfield, Clinton Township, MI Time: 5:30-8:00 p.m. Instructor: Lorna Skocelas Office Hours: After class, or by appointment. Mobile/Home Phone #: You may text or me during the day. Please note: I am a first grade teacher, our school day hours are 8:15-3:25 p.m. I will do my best to check for communication during my lunch and/or preparation periods. Course Description, Goals, and Themes * * * Introduction. This is an introductory designed to help you begin teaching mathematics. Our focus in this course will be on helping you use a number of instructional activities that are central to the content in elementary mathematics, that are deeply embedded in the curriculum, and that you can learn to do well as a novice. Your enactment of these mathematics teaching activities will be anchored in commitments to high-quality mathematics instruction expressed by mathematics education policy documents such as Principles and Standards of Teaching Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000) and the Common Core Content Standards Initiative (2010). By learning to enact these instructional activities well, you will learn a good deal of the mathematical content that matters for teaching elementary mathematics, but you will also learn how to listen to children s ideas, and how to calibrate your teaching in response. Your knowledge of mathematics, your ability to represent ideas and hear others understandings of them, your skill in using mathematical tools like drawings, symbols, number lines, and your facility with language all matter greatly in teaching mathematics, and they will be honed and polished in the context of this course. Mathematical proficiency. The point of departure for our course is: What does it mean to be mathematically proficient? And then, drawing on our definition of mathematical proficiency, how would we design mathematics instruction so that students would become mathematically proficient? Page 1

2 The big picture. Teaching any subject in school does not occur in a vacuum. Good teaching is predicated on positive, generative relationships and so our work on teaching mathematics will give attention to the relational practices that contribute to a productive classroom environment. We will also be mindful of the ways that identities are formed by school experiences, both for students and for teachers. These themes will receive a good deal of our attention in this course as well. Mathematical content. In one short semester, we will not be able to cover all of the mathematical topics and instructional activities that you will use over your teaching career. But we will be able to study deeply content that is pivotal in the school curriculum, and our learning together will prepare you to continue learning mathematical content and pedagogy across your career. Our central concern is the mathematical content of place value with whole numbers, and on procedures and meanings for whole number computation. We will also study fractions and the teaching of fractions. Using these topics, we aim to develop both computational fluency and number sense, two ideas that will garner much of our attention over the summer. Place value and whole number and fractions computation cut a wide swath across the elementary and middle school mathematics curriculum, so you will be knowledgeable in important mathematical topics as you begin teaching. This course supports the theme of the College of Education at Wayne State University of The Effective Urban Educator: Reflective, Innovative and Committed to Diversity. Accordingly, our course will focus on reflective teaching practice; innovation in mathematics instruction; and teaching diverse learners. These themes will be woven throughout the class but we will give special attention to each in turn across the semester. Reflective teaching practice: In our class, we will promote reflection on teaching practice. We will develop skills of reflection on video and on our own practice with students (when possible). Instruction involves meticulous planning, interactive work with students, and then reflecting after the interactions on what students learned, how the interactions transpired, and what to do moving forward. Becoming a dispassionate observer of one s own practice, and teaching practice in general, is not an easy charge. This will be a strong emphasis across our semester together. Innovation in mathematics instruction: We will consider innovative methods and materials for helping students learn mathematics and what it takes to teach in innovative ways. Because innovation is a break from the past, it can be hard to adopt, challenging to teach, and difficult for parents and students to accept. And, not all innovation is necessarily good! So we will give close attention to appraising innovations in mathematics education, their value, and how to put them into practice in productive ways. Teaching diverse learners. In mathematics education, teaching diverse learners means we will focus on how to teach mathematics so that all children can learn. Because mathematics is important in helping children express themselves and understand the world around them, and because math is a gatekeeper to higher education and employment, we are committed to enacting instruction so that all children can have these opportunities. Often this requires making mathematical reasoning explicit, rather than assuming that children can figure out on their own what is often taken for granted. So, for example, we will engage in multiple activities in which we practice helping children make mathematical thinking explicit. Our focus this will be on learning more about the different students you will teach and on how to develop many practices of teaching that are sensitive to and respectful of differences, and that enable you to help each of your students become successful mathematics learners. Page 2

3 We will have a number of different modes for learning to teach mathematics. These include: 1. Doing of mathematics ourselves, as a way to learn more about the mathematical content and the ways of listening and talking about mathematics that you will be able to use when you teach children 2. Reading about mathematics teaching from the list of assigned and recommended readings. Our discussions of these readings, and your own responses to them in your notebook, will be a way to think about mathematics teaching outside of what you can experience first-hand. 3. Using videotaped examples of teaching: our own teaching, and the teaching of others that we can observe via videotape. Videotape has the great advantage of the pause button: you can stop the action, replay it, make conjectures about what you observed, and go back to watch again. 4. Rehearsing instructional activities in the company of fellow students and instructors. 5. Observing others teaching mathematics 6. Enacting instruction Each of these modalities provides different and complementary ways of learning to teach mathematics, and you can see the virtues and gaps that each provides. Instructional Activities Our course will prepare you to carry out three instructional activities that will provide the basis for a strong start in teaching mathematics. These three activities are: Posing mathematical questions Representing mathematical ideas in multiple ways Responding to students written and spoken mathematical work You will have opportunities to rehearse these activities in class and then try them out. Course Requirements and Grading Attendance and class participation: Your participation in our class activities and discussions is important not only for your own learning but also the learning of others. If circumstances prevent you from attending a class, please notify me in advance. Because much of the learning for this class will be real-time and in the presence of your colleagues, it is essential that you attend every class (arriving on time and remaining through the full class session) Much of the work in the class is done together and in an interactive way with each other. This is not a class in which reading the articles and writing papers suffices; what you will learn is in great part also through your interactions with your colleagues in class around the readings and the video and audio materials that we will view together. For this reason, please do not use laptops or cell phones during class so that you can be fully engaged with your colleagues. (If you have learning needs that necessitate technology please let me know.) Notebooks: You will keep mathematical and other recordings, writings, and reflections in a special mathematics notebook. The work you do in these notebooks, while less formal than papers or projects, is a central part of the course. You will do homework, field notes, and inclass work in your notebook. From time to time, I will look at and respond to your work in these notebooks. When I read them, I will provide suggestions for amplifying your use of this medium for your own learning so that you get as much as possible out of the experience. Page 3

4 This notebook may not be like other journals you have kept in the past. The point is to create a useable record of your own work and thinking as well as our class's accumulating understandings and investigations, our conjectures and arguments. The notebooks will be a place for you to track and record your own thinking about issues and ideas as well as an additional avenue of communication between you and me. Think of it like a sort of lab notebook where one keeps systematic records of experiments, or the notebooks that photographers keep about lighting, lenses, and settings. Bird-watchers keep notebooks; so do cooks and architects. These records all help these professionals keep track of, study, and improve their practice. You are developing a notebook to record and support your learning as a teacher of mathematics. NOTEBOOKS WILL BE DUE ON January 30, February 20, March 20, and April 24.* Reading and other assignments: You will be reading a variety of articles and other materials for this class, and you will be asked to write responses to these readings. Some of the readings will be discussed explicitly in class, while others will be used in the context of other assignments or class discussions. When you read, you will want to think of how you can bring ideas from the texts to bear on your work with children, and our work in analyzing, planning, and enacting instruction. The reading assignments and other activities, including lesson planning and mathematics problems, that you are required to do for each class session will be posted by Wednesday evening on our course Blackboard website. The assignments are posted each week so that we can adjust in response to our progress and keep the assignments relevant and timely. PLEASE BRING THE PRINTED READINGS AND YOUR WRITTEN RESPONSES TO CLASS. Keep copies of these writings and other assignments to be turned in during class or when notebooks are collected. Projects: There will be two projects. The first will be a close study of students mathematical thinking. You will learn to conduct an interview with a student in which you probe his/her mathematical thinking, and then make some assertions about what the child knows and can do, as well as recommend some instructional moves specifically for this child based on your interview. THIS PROJECT WILL BE DUE FEBRUARY 27.* For the second project, you will have a choice: you can either compose a presentation that illustrates your understanding of the Common Core State Content Standards for Mathematics Instruction with snippets of your teaching work, including some or all of the following: excerpts from your notebook, passages of your videotaped teaching, examples of student work, written lesson plans, audio recordings of your planning and teaching, and field notes from others who have observed your teaching OR you can complete a comparative study of mathematics curricula around a single mathematics topic. PROJECT DUE DATE MAY 5.* Detailed instructions and specific grading rubrics for each of these projects will be given with the assignments. In both cases, I will evaluate the quality of the connections you make between practical work and the issues raised in readings and class discussions, as well as the clarity of your oral and written presentation of your work and ideas. Final: There will be a final that covers the mathematical content that we have studied. You will receive study notes in preparation for the final exam. The final will help you see how much mathematics you will have learned during the semester, and will also serve as a model of mathematics assessments that you might consider in your own teaching. THE FINAL EXAM WILL BE GIVEN DURING CLASS TIME ON MAY 1st.* Page 4

5 Late work will not be accepted. I will consider alternate arrangements in extenuating circumstances, but only if they are agreed upon in advance of the due date. *Please note that all due dates are subject to change so that we can be responsive to the needs and progress of the class. Grading: Your final grade will be determined as follows: Notebook entries and reading responses 20% Attendance and participation 20% Project 1: Interviewing a student, assessing 25% what a student knows Project 2: Illustrating high-quality 25% mathematics teaching OR Curriculum comparison Final examination on mathematics content 10% and instruction University policies: General Note on Grading The College of Education faculty members strive to implement assessment measures that reflect a variety of strategies in order to evaluate a student's performance in a course. For undergraduates and post-degree students C grades will be awarded for satisfactory work that satisfies all course requirements; B grades will be awarded for very good work, and A grades will be reserved for outstanding performance. Please note that there is a distribution of grades from A-F within the College of Education and plusses and minuses are recorded and distinguish distinct grade point averages. Undergraduate Grades A+ 100% A % A- 90% B+ 89% B 81-88% B- 80% C+ 79% C 71-78% C- 70% D+ 69% D 61-68% D- 60% F 59% and lower Plagiarism Policy Plagiarism includes copying material (any more than 5 consecutive words) from outside texts or presenting outside information as if it were your own by not crediting authors through citations. It can be deliberate or unintended. If you're in doubt about the use of a source, cite it. Students caught plagiarizing information from other sources will receive a failing grade in the course. University policy states that students can be subject to multiple sanctions, from reprimand to expulsion as a consequence of academic dishonesty. To enforce this policy, all outside references must be submitted with assignments. Page 5

6 Withdrawal Policy - Students who withdraw from a course after the end of the 4th week of class will receive a grade of WP, WF, or WN. o WP will be awarded if the student is passing the course (based on work due to date) at the time the withdrawal is requested o WF will be awarded if the student is failing the course (based on work due to o date) at the time the withdrawal is requested WN will be awarded if no materials have been submitted, and so there is no basis for a grade - Students must submit their withdrawal request on-line through Pipeline. The faculty member must approve the withdrawal request before it becomes final, and students should continue to attend class until they receive notification via that the withdrawal has been approved. Withdrawals can be requested at any point from the fifth week of class through the study day. Attention Students with Disabilities If you have a documented disability that requires accommodations, you will need to register with Student Disability Services for coordination of your academic accommodations. The Student Disability Services (SDS) office is located at 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library in the Student Academic Success Services department. SDS telephone number is or (TTY: telecommunication device for the deaf; phone for hearing impaired students only). Once you have your accommodations in place, SDS staff will be glad to meet with you privately during office hours to discuss your special needs. Student Disability Services mission is to assist the university in creating an accessible community where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate in their educational experience at Wayne State University. Please be aware that a delay in getting SDS accommodation letters for the current semester may hinder the availability or facilitation of those accommodations in a timely manner. Therefore, it is in your best interest to get your accommodation letters as early in the semester as possible. Religious Observance Policy Because of the extraordinary variety of religious affiliations represented in the University student body and staff, the Wayne State University calendar makes no provision for religious holidays. It is University policy, however, to respect the faith and religious obligations of the individual. Students who find that their classes or examinations involve conflicts with their religious observances are expected to notify their instructors well in advance so that alternative arrangements as suitable as possible may be worked out. Course materials: Required books 1. Van De Walle, J. (2015). Elementary and middle school mathematics: Teaching developmentally, 9th edition. Allyn & Bacon. Websites you will need for the course The State of Michigan Department of Education has adopted the Common Core Content Standards, which are being adopted across the nation. These common standards will greatly shape mathematics curriculum and instruction in the years to come. You can find them at the following website: Page 6

7 Student Learning Outcomes From your work in this class, you will learn to: reference policy documents in developing lessons for students in mathematics, including NCTM Standards, common core content standards in mathematics appraise the quality of mathematics instruction (in videos, as represented in curriculum materials, and reflecting on their teaching enactments with children) using the strands of mathematical proficiency (NRC, 2001) and common core content standards in mathematics (2010) demonstrate command of mathematical knowledge for teaching in place value, number and operations, fractions, decimals and percent using Elementary and Middle School Mathematics, Van de Walle, 6 th edition choose and enact mathematics activities for children in place value, number and operations, fractions, decimals and percent based on children s understandings and current needs formulate questions and adopt a stance of listening in order to elicit a child s thinking on mathematical topics and interpret that thinking use concrete materials to model mathematical ideas, linking materials to symbolic representation with clear explanatory language strengthen content knowledge of mathematics in preparation for standardized tests as well as for teaching enact mathematics activities with children that address all five strands of mathematical proficiency so that children can problem-solve, develop computational fluency, use strategies to approach math problems, and view mathematics as worthwhile Assessment of Outcomes Your learning will be assessed from by your: Collaboratively developed lesson plans Homework assignments; In-class video analyses; Written reflections following enactments with children at Bennett Elementary School; Curriculum investigation in class; Final examination questions Reading assignment written responses; Final examination questions Planning, rehearsals, enactment, and reflection of lessons Interview Project Rehearsals in class using base-10 block manipulatives to model addition and subtraction with regrouping In-class and homework assignments of mathematics problems Planning, rehearsals, enactment, and reflection of lessons Page 7