Math for Elementary Teachers

$Math for Elementary Teachers - Math306$

Professor Ross Roehl

Course Description, Aims, and Objectives

Math 306, Math for Elementary Teachers, is a three credit course for those intending to become teachers. The course reviews the concepts and skills that are normally taught at the elementary, middle, and junior high school levels. The course emphasizes understanding of mathematical concepts, matching the concepts to the appropriate skills, and applying those concepts and skills to problem solving. Numerous activities using manipulatives will be used in the course to illustrate the concepts. Most activities will come from Mathematics for Elementary Teachers, A Activities Approach, by Bennett and Nelson. These activities will help to demonstrate how students come to understand mathematical concepts and also to give ideas of how a classroom teacher may one day present these concepts to students. This course is a continuation of Math305. That course covers the first part of the book.

Textbook & Materials

Mathematics for Elementary Teachers, A Conceptual Approach, third edition by Bennett and Nelson.

You should also have available the following:

	scientific calculator
	scissors
	notebook or folder for use with the assigned problems from the textbook
	some method to keep all class materials

Course Content

Math306 will work with material found in Chapters 7-10, 12 of the text. The topics include the following:

	Plane Figures
	Polygons and Tesselations
	Space Figures
	Symmetric Figures
	Introduction to Logo
	Systems of Measurement
	Area and Perimeter
	Volume and Surface Area
	Introductions to Algebra
	Functions and Coordinate Geometry
	Congruence and Constructions
	Congruence Mappings
	Similarity Mappings
	Topological Mappings
	Single Stage Experiments
	Multistage Experiments

Grading

The semester grade will be determined as follows:

	Written Tests (60%) Tests will cover material assigned to read and material covered in classroom lectures and activities. Written tests will generally be given after each chapter. Some chapters may be combined for testing purposes.
	Classroom Activities (30%) Classroom activities are similar to laboratory experiments in science class. Grades for activities will be based upon preparation for and participation in classroom activities.
	Semester Exam (10%) This will be a comprehensive semester exam.

Letter grades will be assigned according to the following per cents:

Percentage	Letter Grade	Percentage	Letter Grade
96-100	A	78-80	C
93-95	A-	75-77	C-
90-92	B+	72-74	D+
87-89	B	69-71	D
84-86	B-	66-68	D-
81-83	C+	0-65	F

Math 306 Correspondence