C&I 530: Int'l Trends in Mathematics Teaching and Learning: A Look at the TIMSS Video Study

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This seminar will examine the findings of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1999 Video Study, also known as TIMSS-R. TIMSS is currently known as Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The findings from the Video Study will serve as a starting point for discussions about mathematics teaching and learning. Because the findings report on mathematics teaching in seven countries, the differences in teaching approaches between countries afford alternative ways of thinking about mathematics teaching and considering the implications for school mathematics in the U.S.

The seminar is designed to facilitate your thinking about a school mathematics problem that arises from readings and discussions about the TIMSS Video Study. Accordingly, structured reading assignments and one-page summaries provide the background for engaging important mathematics education questions and making sense of the Video Study. Examination of the video clips that accompany the report, readings, class discussions, an annotated bibliography, and informal presentations serve to identify and refine questions for which you will pursue answers. Through examination of the research, a core expectation is that you develop an informed and reasoned position about a school mathematics issue important to you. Your intellectual engagemnet will culminate in a scholarly product, a journal article length paper.