Math for Elementary Teachers - Math305

Professor Ross Roehl

Course Description, Aims, and Objectives

Math 305, 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 to be followed by Math306. That course covers the second part of the book.

Textbook & Materials
bulletMathematics for Elementary Teachers, A Conceptual Approach, third edition by Bennett and Nelson.

 

bulletYou should also have available the following:
bulletscientific calculator
bulletloose leaf paper (no notebooks, please)
bulletsome method (pocket notebook) to keep all class materials

Course Content

bulletMath305 will work with material found in Chapters 1-6 of the text. The topics include the following:
bulletProblem Solving
bulletPatterns
bulletSets and Counting
bulletLogic and Deductive Reasoning
bulletNumeration Systems
bulletOperations with Whole Numbers
bulletFactors and Multiples
bulletGreatest Common Factor
bulletLeast Common Multiple
bulletIntegers
bulletFractions and Operations with Fractions
bulletDecimals and Operations with Decimals
bulletRational and Irrational Numbers
bulletRatio
bulletPercent
bulletScientific Notation

Grading

The semester grade will be determined as follows:

bulletDaily Work (20%) Assigned daily work will help students be certain they understand the concepts presented in the chapter and will assist students in performing well on the written tests.

bulletWritten Tests (50%) 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.

bulletClassroom Activities (20%) Classroom activities are similar to laboratory experiments in science class. Grades for activities will be based upon preparation for and participation in classroom activities.
 
bulletSemester Exam (10%) This will be a comprehensive semester exam.

bulletLetter 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