MATH 176
Mathematical Explorations for Elementary Teachers, II
Section 105, Fall 2007
Instructor: Kevin McLeod
Office: EMS E481
Phone: 229-5269
E-mail:
kevinm@uwm.edu
Home page: www.uwm.edu/~kevinm
Class meeting time: W 4:30-8:00, MPS School Support Center
Text: Sybilla Beckmann, Mathematics for Elementary Teachers,
(with Class Activities book).
We will cover material from chapters 8-15 of the text, together with
some additional material from a supplemental package developed
at UWM.
Prerequisites for course:
A grade of C or better in MATH 175, Mathematical Explorations
for Elementary Teachers, I, or an equivalent college-level
math course.
Course description
In MATH 175, Mathematical Explorations for Elementary Teachers, I,
we studied Number and Operations. The current course is intended to
survey the remaining portions of elementary school mathematics,
essentially Geometry and Statistics.
Thus, this course aims to demonstrate that Geometry and
Statistics make sense, and to prepare teachers to help children
experience these topics as making sense. By making sense of mathematics,
children are able to reason through and solve mathematical problems, and
to come to an understanding of why standard methods and
procedures work. Such an understanding is a necessary
preparation for higher mathematics. Conveying such understanding,
and being able to help children correct misunderstandings in their work
is a demanding task. The course is therefore one of reconstructing your
own understanding of Geometry and Statistics... it is not
simply a review of mathematical procedures.
You will be expected to take an active role in class,
participating in activities and discussions. For this reason,
attendance is particularly important: you will not be able to
make up a missed class just by reading the textbook.
On the other hand, you must make sure that you do all the assigned
reading, since it will motivate much of the class discussion.
You will need a compass, protractor, ruler (with inch and centimetre
markings), and graph paper. Bring this equipment to class
every day! You may decide to bring a calculator to class.
We will spend time in class discussing the appropriate use of this
tool. Graphing calculators, such as the TI83+ and TI84+, have
valuable applications which may be downloaded to your personal
calculators. These will be available at no cost during the
semester.
There is a class website at
http://www.uwm.edu/~kevinm/teaching/176/frames.htm.
Homework will be posted on the website after each class, and will be due at
the following class, so you will need to check the site regularly.
Any relevant information about the class, such as exam dates,
changes of location, or other announcements, will also be posted.
If I find useful and relevant links during the semester, I will post them
as well; if you find some yourself, please let me know.
You are responsible for any information posted on the website,
so please check it frequently.
Evaluation
Your grade for the course will be based on
the following factors:
- Homework Homework may be given out in class, but
will always be posted on the class website. It will be graded
on a 0-5 basis. Homework will be considered late if not handed
in by the due date, which will usually be the following class
period. The maximum credit for late work will be 3 of 5 points.
I will not review all of your work; I will ask
you to hand in a subset of the entire assignment and give you an
appropriate grade. You should, of course, do all assigned problems,
whether or not you are asked to hand them in. Many homework problems
ask for explanations; carefully written explanations are an
important part of your answer, and will be required for a good
homework grade.
20%
- Midterms There will be 2 in-class midterms during the
semester. The first of these will be given close to the
6th week of the semester; the second will be 1 or 2 weeks before the
final exam.. The exact dates of the midterms
will depend on how fast we cover the material, and will be announced
at least one week in advance.
20% each.
- Final Exam The final exam will be comprehensive,
and will take place from 4:30-6:30 on Wednesday, Dec 19.
30%.
- Class participation 10%.
You can have a make-up for any one of the midterms, no questions
asked. The make-up must be taken within one week of the original
quiz, and will be an oral exam.
Students with disabilities
If you feel you are a student with a disability, please feel free
to contact me early in the semester for any help or accommodation
you may need.
University policies
The Secretary of the University has a
PDF file dedicated
to university policies for religious observances,
grade appeal procedures, military service and other matters.
Please also be aware of
proper student conduct at the university.
Kevin Mcleod
18/09/2007