1. MAE 4326 Teaching Children Mathematics
Welcome!
MAE 4326 Teaching Children Mathematics

2. Introductions
TP 

3. How do you feel about math?
Human Line

4. The Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics
1. Knowledge of Mathematics and General Pedagogy
2. Knowledge of Student Mathematical Learning
3. Worthwhile Mathematical Tasks
4. Learning Environment
5. Discourse
6. Reflection on Student Learning
7. Reflection on Teaching Practice
Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. As you become a teacher of mathematics you will need:
Knowledge of mathematics
Persistence
Positive attitude
Readiness for change
Reflective disposition
Copyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Verbs of Math
Think about what you experienced during your elementary school math education. Make a list of verbs to describe. Try to be specific!

7. Traditional Views of School Mathematics
Teacher represents the source of all that is known
Review material from previous day
Move on to explanation of new material
Practice exercises
Lesson’s focus is primarily on getting the answers.
Students rely on teacher to determine whether or not their answers are correct

8. The Verbs of Mathematics
Traditional
Work
Getting the Answer
Plussing
Doing Times
Listen
Copy
Memorize
Drill
Reform
Explore
Investigate
Solve
Verify
Discover
Describe
Predict
Explain

9. What Does It Mean to DO MATHEMATICS?
Engaging in the science of pattern and order
Mastering mathematical concepts by doing NOT drilling
Drill should NEVER come before understanding and will NEVER result in understanding

10. Applying Procedures 

11. Schifter and Fosnot on the Role of Teachers
"No matter how lucidly and patiently teachers explain to their students, they cannot understand for their students."
From D. Schifter and C. T. Fosnot, Reconstructing Mathematics Education:Stories of Teachers Meeting the Challenge of Reform (New York: Teachers College Press, 1993), p. 9.
What does this quote mean to you related to teaching mathematics?

12. An Environment of Doing Mathematics
The teacher’s role is to create a spirit of inquiry, trust, and expectation where students feel comfortable taking risks
Students are invited to do mathematics
The focus is on students actively figuring things out, testing ideas, and making conjectures, developing reasons and offering explanation
Students work in pairs, groups, or individually

13. What the Researchers said about Our Mathematics Standards
“A Mile Wide, An Inch Deep”
For Florida’s Grades 1-7, the average number of mathematics grade level expectations (GLEs) = 83.3
Singapore, the highest performing nation as measured by Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), has 15 GLEs per grade level

14. Top Achieving TIMSS Countries’ Mathematics Curriculum
© Center for Research in Math and Science Education,
Michigan State University

15. Mathematics Topics Intended at Each Grade by 1989 NCTM Standards
© Center for Research in Math and Science Education,
Michigan State University

16. Describing the Standards
Old Standards had an average of 83.3 Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) per grade.
The new Standards have an average of 19 benchmarks per grade.

17. Describing the Standards
Grade Level
Number of Old GLE’s
Number of New Benchmarks K 67
1st 78
2nd 84
3rd 88
4th 89
5th 77
6th
7th
8th 93

18. Describing the Standards
Grade Level
Number of Old GLE’s
Number of New Benchmarks K 67 11
1st 78 14
2nd 84 21
3rd 88 17
4th 89
5th 77 23
6th 19
7th 22
8th 93

19. Mathematics Proficiency
The five “strands” of mathematics proficiency (NRC, 2001):
Conceptual Understanding – comprehension of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations
Procedural Fluency – skill in carrying out procedures flexibly, accurately, efficiently, and appropriately
Strategic Competence – ability to formulate, represent, and solve mathematical problems
Adaptive Reasoning – capacity for logical thought, reflection, explanation, and justification
Productive Disposition – habitual inclination to see mathematics as sensible, useful, and worthwhile, coupled with a belief in diligence and one’s own efficacy
The five process standards (NCTM, 2000):
Problem Solving
Reasoning and Proof
Communication
Connections
Representations

20. Syllabus
Review Syllabus
Discuss Specifics
Expectations