St. Francis Xavier University

P.O. Box 5000

Antigonish, Nova Scotia

B2G 2W5 

Secondary Mathematics Methods - Education 423A

B.Ed.

Fall, 2010

Class time: Tuesday & Thursday 1:00-2:50

Instructor: Lisa Lunney Borden Office: Xavier 311 Office Phone: 867-5132 Email: lborden@stfx.ca Web: http://people.stfx.ca/lborden/

Office Hours: Monday 1:00 - 3:00 Tuesday & Thursday 9:30 – 12:00 Other times available by appointment

Broad Course Outcomes:

In this course students will:

• Develop strategies, including the use of manipulatives and technology, to assist in learning and instruction;
• Explore the critical issues of process, content, and assessment, in secondary mathematics;
• Examine strategies to enhance engagement in mathematics learning in the secondary mathematics;
• Understand the vision for mathematics education as outlined in the Atlantic Canada Curriculum and supported by agencies such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics;
• Critical analyze current research in mathematics education and its implication for classroom teaching.

Materials:

Students will be required to have the following text which is available at the bookstore:

Boaler, J. (2008). What’s math got to do with it? Penguin: Toronto, Ontario.

Additionally, in this course we will draw on a number of readings from various sources. Copies of all readings will be put on reserve in the resource centre for your convenience. When possible, electronic links will be put on the class web site.

Other important documents you will want to have access to:

NCTM (2000). Principles and Standards for School Mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics

This is available on-line at http://nctm.org/standards/ where you can read an executive summary or sign up for a 120 day free trial to get full access.

Nova Scotia Curriculum Documents for Grades 7 to 12.

These documents are available to be borrowed from my office and are also available in the resource center. Many students may wish to have copies of their own. These can be ordered for free from the Nova Scotia Department of Education on their website at www.ednet.ns.ca (Click on Document Depot è Curriculum & Textbooks è Curriculum Documents for NS Schools è Curriculum Documents: MATHEMATICS (Download/ Order On-line) and choose the ones you want to add to your cart, put in your information and they should arrive in a reasonable amount of time).

University Policy on Academic Integrity

St. Francis Xavier University values academic integrity. Please familiarize yourself with the policy in section 3.9 of the academic calendar. Any infractions will be dealt with according to this policy.

Attendance

Students are reminded that attendance is mandatory for all B.Ed. classes. If you are unable to attend class and have a legitimate reason for doing so, you should send an email prior to the class advising me of the reason why you are unable to attend. You will be expected to make up any missed work. If you accumulate two or more unexplained absences you will be reported to the B.Ed. chair.

Classroom Equity Policy
For all members of our class to learn effectively, this classroom must be a safe learning environment.  To ensure safety for all students, the policy in this class is that no one shall be discriminated against or harassed on the basis of age, race, colour, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, physical disability or mental disability, an irrational fear of contracting an illness or disease, ethnic, national or Aboriginal origin, family status, marital status, source of income, political belief, affiliation or activity, an individual's association with another individual or class of individuals having any one or more of the characteristics referred to in the list above. Whether a person intended their words or actions to be discriminatory or harassing does not matter; it is the effect of words and actions that is the focus of equitable treatment.

Discrimination is the distinctive treatment of a person with one or more of the above characteristics which, in the view of a reasonable person, has the effect of imposing a burden, obligation or disadvantage or limits and withholds benefits and advantages to an individual or a class of individuals. Harassment (including sexual harassment) is offensive or objectionable conduct or comment toward another person or persons that is known or ought to be known from the perspective of a reasonable person in the position of the complainant to be intimidating, offensive or unwelcome.

Secondary Mathematics Assignments

Note: Submitting assignments on time is an important part of developing your professionalism. It is important to make plans to begin working on assignments right away so as not to get bogged down mid-semester. If you anticipate a delay in submitting an assignment due to unforeseen circumstances please contact me as soon as you possibly can to discuss this and make arrangements for a completion plan. All course assignments must be submitted in all classes before individual students are permitted to begin practicum. While individual excellence will be rewarded, it is expected that the class average of marks will normally fall between 78 and 84.

My Mathematics Journal (30%) Due November 4, 2010

It is important for teachers of mathematics to also be students of mathematics. Through engaging in doing and reflecting upon mathematics and mathematics education research will we become better mathematics educators ourselves. For this course you will expected to keep a mathematics journal. This journal will include two components: A problem solving component and research component.

Part A: Problem Solving

Students will be expected to engage in regular problem solving throughout the course. Three times throughout the course you will be given a problem set to work on. Additional problems may arise during class times or may emerge from readings. You will expected to work on these problems both during class time and on your own time. You should keep a journal with your work. For the due date, you will choose 5 of the problems you have worked on and prepare full write-ups of your solutions to submit along with your journal with your rough work. You will also submit a one page reflection on the process of problem solving and its role in secondary mathematics teaching.

Part B: Research Reflections

Throughout the course you will be expected to read articles, book chapters, documents, and so on. For your journal, you will choose 4 of the reading from the semester and write a one page reflection that critically examines the reading. Your reflection should focus on what you took from the article and how it might inform your practice.

Engaging and Open Activities (30%) Due October 12 or 14, 2009

q You will be randomly assigned to a group of four to five and each group will be randomly assigned a specific math course at the secondary level.

q Your group will choose a unit from your assigned course for which to develop a series of 8 to 10 open and engaging activities. You should include a variety of tasks including some of the following types of activities:

o An open activity (in process and /or product)

o An investigation or inquiry activity

o A non-routine problem

o An example space activity

The tasks must be able to be used to generate good classroom discussion and debate, to promote reasoning and justification, and to move students towards deepened understanding.

q You will also work on a 2-3 page write-up collaboratively. The write-up should include:

o the Atlantic Canada Curriculum outcomes addressed by each activity

o pre-requisite knowledge required to do each activity

o notes to teacher on each activity including set-up procedures, materials required, and a description of the expectations for student participation

o strategies for adaptations and extensions

o assessment notes for the activity

q You will present your activities in class and allow your peers time to engage with the tasks.

q You will submit:

o Your write-up

o Each of the activities

o A one page reflection (written individually) from each group member that focuses on the process of developing and implementing the activities

Unit Plan (40%) Due dates vary, see each component below.

Part A: Initial Lesson Plan (Due September 30, 2010)

You will be expected to submit one lesson plan from your unit plan for feedback. No grade will be given, only comments. This will provide you with initial feedback to guide the rest of the development of your unit plan.

Part B: The Unit Plan (Due October 28, 2010)

Your unit plan must include:

1. A summary of the unit including the specific curriculum outcomes, a summary of each lesson, any required resources, and any additional information that might be necessary for the completion of the unit.
2. The lesson plan that was submitted for part A with revisions based on the feedback, and two additional lesson plans developed in full.
3. An assessment plan for each lesson. This should identify the conversations, observations, or products you would use to assess student learning in each lesson. Identify specific questions you would ask or specific tasks you would expect students to perform.

The unit plan should be in the form of a four column spread as seen below. Lesson plans should follow either the Nova Scotia Provincial Mathematics model or the model in your handbook. Models of both lessons and units will be given out in class to be used as examples.

Lesson Title and time allotted	Outcomes Addressed	Summary of Lesson	Assessment Plan
Include the lesson topic and section number and an estimated amount of time for the lesson. Note a lesson may take place over more than one day.	Include the Specific Curriculum Outcomes (SCOs) that are to be addressed by the lesson.	Can be written in point form. Should contain enough detail to understand the general flow of the lesson but should still be concise.	Include ideas for conversations, observations or products that can be used to assess student performance in relation to the specific SCOs for the lesson.