GRED 505
Topics in Mathematics for Elementary Teachers
Spring 2012
Class Place: TBA
Instructor: Dr. Sergei Abramovich
Office: Satterlee 210
Office Hours: M: 9:00a.m.-10:00p.m.; TU: 7:00p.m.-8:00p.m.; W: 9:00a.m.-10:00a.m.; and by appointment.
Phone: (315) 267-2541 (office); e-mail: abramovs@potsdam.edu;
http://www2.potsdam.edu/abramovs
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TEXT(S)/COVERAGE / OTHER RESOURCES
No textbook is required for the course but the following book may be useful:
Abramovich, S. (2010).Topics in Mathematics for Elementary Teachers: A Technology-Enhanced Experiential Approach. Information Age Publishing, Inc. Charlotte, North Carolina.
All course materials will be distributed in class.
SUNY Potsdam e-mail account is required. To arrange for this account please come over to the Office of Distributed Computing (Kellas 100, phone #2083) with your student ID. The Office hours are M-F, 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Please be advised that you can check your campus e-mail through the Internet by opening the following location in the Navigator: http://bearmail.potsdam.edu.
Some course materials will be put on the Web (GRED505Files). To access assignments folder on the Internet, click at the link Assignments; holding down the OPTION (Mac) or SHIFT (Windows) key while clicking on any document will cause this document to be downloaded to your computer. You can then double-click on the document and open it on your own computer, assuming that you have the same program that was used to create it.
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COURSE CONTENT/OBJECTIVES
Course content
CRITICAL THINKING: pattern recognition, problem solving strategies; partition of integers, combinatorial reasoning; FOUNDATIONS: inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning; sets and functions; NUMERATION & MATHEMATICAL SYSTEMS: operations and their role in the development of the concept of number, arithmetic of rational numbers, change of basis, clock arithmetic; NUMBER THEORY: prime numbers, prime factorization, divisibility, greatest common divisor, least common multiple, Fibonacci numbers; GEOMETRY: explorations on a geoboard, tessellations, golden ratio.
Course Objectives
To provide students with a significant opportunity to (1) foster their critical thinking, abstract reasoning and problem solving skills, (2) enhance their ability to see a mathematics topic taught as embedded in rich network of interconnected concepts; (3) develop their confidence in doing and teaching standards-based elementary school mathematics, and (4) develop skills in using technology in the classroom.
Conceptual Framework Alignment: Critically analyzes and solves problems, demonstrates knowledge of state and national standards.
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ATTENDANCE/|PROFESSIONALISM: Students are expected to attend, be prepared for, and participate professionally in each class. This includes the ability to support classroom activities by participating in the discussion of homework including readings. Professionalism also assumes the ability to keep notes of all class discussions and homework assignments, using library and the Internet resources to access information, using e-mail, word processing and other programs as educational tools. An e-mail communication between the instructor and students may be used. Thus students are expected to check their e-mail on a regular basis. In the case of a three-weekend course offering, because of intensive nature of studies in such a format, any student who misses a full day will be asked to drop the course and take it at a different time. (Note: the course is offered three times during an academic year).
Conceptual Framework Alignment: Professional behavior, works well with others.
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DOCUMENTED ABSENCES/EXCUSES
College policy provides that students should be allowed to make up work in the case of "a documented absence resulting from active participation in College-sponsored activities, illness or family emergency." For college-sponsored activities, students will be expected to turn their written assignments in advance of the date due and absences must be acceptably documented. With regard to illness and family emergency, these must be documented. It is a rare illness that impedes a student who has not waited to the last minute from submitting a paper on time. The Student Health Service refers acute illnesses and injuries to outside medical facilities and does NOT ordinarily provide documentation for treatment carried out only by it. The same rules that apply to students actively participating in college-sponsored activities, will apply to students unable to attend because of religious beliefs.
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DOCUMENTED DISABILITIES
Any student who feels she or he may need accommodations based on a documented disability should see me after class, during my office hours, or by appointment. Students needing an Accommodation Plan should see Disabled Student Services.
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EVALUATION PROCEDURES
There will be seven assignments given which will be a combination of class and home work. All completed assignments typed on a computer (with computer-generated pictures and diagrams) must be put in a special portfolio (a three-ring binder). This portfolio will be graded. Portfolio not turned in on the due date (to be announced in class and confirmed by email) will be considered late. The penalty for late portfolio will be 5% off for each day late.
Each student will participate in a team presentation of a mathematics education research publication put on reserve for GRED 505 at the Crumb library. (Please search them by course number (GRED 505) rather than by instructor to get a results list that is specific to this course. There are searching instructions posted at the quick check stations at the circulation desk.) In particular, this will include writing an individual one-page reflection on the publication and turning it in immediately prior to the presentation.
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COMPONENTS OF THE FINAL GRADE
Portfolio: 60%; Presentation: 20%; The use of technology: 20%
Grades will be assigned according to the following scale:
100%-94% - 4.0; range 87%-93% - 3.7; range 80%-86% - 3.3; range
73%-79% - 3.0; range 66%-72% -2.7; range 59%-65% - 2.3; range 52%-58% - 2.0; below 52% - 0.0. _______________________________________________________________
It is expected that all work will be the students own otherwise documented. Failure to credit others for direct quotations and ideas will be considered plagiarism and will result in the student receiving a grade of 0.0 for that assignment.
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Computational (and other) environments in support of the coursePartitions (problem generator).