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Course Overview:
This course is designed to be the second course in the teaching and learning of mathematics in the secondary pre-service teacher education program. This course will examine and model an investigative approach to secondary mathematics instruction through hands-on activities with standards-based and technology-intensive curricula in secondary mathematics. The course will examine learning theories in mathematics in view of recent national and state recommendations for mathematics curricula and instruction-i.e., the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards 2000 and the Illinois Learning Goals.
The course will include several special emphases. Where possible, we will focus our mathematical exploration and learning on the concept of functions. Students will work almost exclusively in an online environment, using wireless internet-connected iBook laptops. Practically all coursework will be submitted online through the course website. This semester we will collaborate as we have:
- The opportunity to develop and to present lessons, to examine middle school mathematics curricula, and to learn mathematics more deeply
- Hands-on experience with powerful tools for learning mathematics, including various manipulatives; software such as Geometer's Sketchpad, Excel, and Fathom; graphing calculators; computer-based laboratories and data collection devices; interactive Java applets and other internet resources
- The opportunity to learn about web development (reviewing the basics of HTML) and curriculum development for the Internet.
- The opportunity to interact with teachers and students in a middle school field placement setting, assisting the cooperating teacher in daily instructional activities, and teaching lessons
Through these opportunities & experiences as we collaborate & grow together, the goals of this course are that we will:
- Extend our awareness of the NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, the Illinois Learning Standards, and the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards.
- Develop our ability to create meaningful lesson plans and units.
- Become more experienced at teaching in front of the classroom and reflecting on the process.
- Become familiar with a number of classroom discipline strategies and develop a personal philosophy on classroom discipline.
- Identify and collect useful sources of mathematics teaching material in texts and the internet.
- Gain greater mathematical understanding through problem posing and problem solving with an emphasis on representations, communication, connections, technology, and social justice.
Through collaboration and your own work, you will walk away from the class with 11 unit
plans and 22 sequences of lessons for use in your future teaching.
Conceptual Framework
The University of Illinois Teacher Education Program is dedicated to the theme of Teaching and Learning in a Diverse Society. To meet the goals of this theme, the program is committed to addressing the following four pillars are processes that undergird our courses. They are:
- Establishing community in teaching and learning environments-in 302, that community is both internal (our class) and external (our field experiences and the METER project);
- Guiding the development of inquiring and reflective minds-in 302, we will explore mathematics together and we will examine how middle grades students view and learn mathematics through exploration;
- Fostering a commitment to service-in 302, we will practice and model this commitment in our field experiences and our projects with the METER grant; and
- Pursuing the understanding and effective application of technology in educational settings-in 302, we will explore the use of technology in mathematics learning, and hopefully, you will have the opportunity to employ it in your field experiences.
If you desire, you may find more detailed information about the UIUC conceptual framework and the four pillars at the following URL:
http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/CTE/ISBE_NCATE_2000/Conceptual_Framework/index.html
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