Math 115 * College Algebra (for Educators) Preceptorial * Fall ‘09

Course Syllabus

 

Instructor:                  Dr. Perla Myers                                                            Office: Serra Hall 133C

Email:                          pmyers@sandiego.edu                                               Phone: 260-7932 (I check email more often)  

Web Page:                  http://home.sandiego.edu/~pmyers

Meeting Place/Times:            Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:45am-12:05pm

 

Office Hours:  Monday 10:00-1:00, Tuesday 2:00-3:00 Thursday 2:00-3:00 or by appointment

 

Math Tutoring Center Hours:           Monday-Thursday: 10am-5pm and 7pm -10pm, Friday: 10am-2pm, Sunday: 7pm-10 pm

(Serra Hall 310—Opens Wednesday, September 9th)

 

Prerequisites:             Passing Level 1 Placement exam.

 

Required Supplies:     Elementary Algebra by Harold Jacobs

A large three-ring binder with dividers and loose-leaf paper, graphing paper, one 80-page subject notebook (for pen-pal letters), and ruler, colored pens/pencils, a stapler, and scissors.

 

Computer Account: I will use email to communicate with you and I encourage you to communicate that way with me and with others in our class.  I will post assignments and place other relevant information on the course web page.   

 

Purpose of the Course:          This Math 115 course is a mathematics content course.  It is designed to improve, broaden and deepen your proficiency, appreciation and understanding of algebra.  Since this course is specifically for people intending to become elementary school teachers, as part of the course, we will sometimes consider specialized mathematical knowledge for teaching.  For example, sometimes we will analyze possible mistakes learners might make when learning a certain concept. 

            As future teachers you will be responsible for the mathematical education of children.  One of the most important gifts you can give children is to help them grow as discoverers, inventors, and users of mathematics in order to better understand the world.  Children can become powerful mathematical thinkers if the learning environment is structured so that children's work in mathematics more closely resembles the work of mathematicians in the field.  Since doing mathematics often involves ill-defined situations and complex problems, young mathematicians must develop persistence and flexibility, build on one another's ideas, and communicate and justify their findings.  In order for you, the teacher, to help children develop these life-long skills, you too must be a successful, confident problem-solver with a deep understanding of mathematics.

We will spend a lot of our class time working on algebraic skills, solving problems and explaining problem-solving approaches to each other to help you develop your intuitive reasoning, problem-solving skills, and explanation abilities.  You will practice explaining and understanding other students’ explanations, and determining their mathematical validity.  The skills you gain while attempting to make sense of the thought process of your peers and to help them grasp concepts will be essential when you become a teacher.  An important part of learning to solve problems is the willingness to struggle with a problem even after you get stuck, and this is one of the first things you will face this semester.  You may be surprised by how much you can do if you just keep working!  The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) recommends:

Knowing mathematics means being able to use it in purposeful ways.  To learn mathematics, students must be engaged in exploring, conjecturing, and thinking rather than only rote learning of rules and procedures… When students construct knowledge derived from meaningful experiences, they are much more likely to retain and use what they have learned.  This fact underlies the teacher’s new role in providing experiences that help students make sense of mathematics, to view and use it as a tool for reasoning and problem solving.

 

Goals for the Course: 

    1. Becoming confident in your ability to use algebra with understanding
    2. Becoming a persistent and successful mathematical problem solver
    3. Learning to reason and justify mathematically
    4. Learning to communicate mathematically; helping others understand why a claim is true and listening and appraising other students’ explanations
    5. Becoming an independent learner; learning to read mathematics for understanding
    6. Understanding the role of language and precision in mathematics; defining mathematical terms
    7. Learning to choose and use representations (verbal, symbolic, visual, material, manipulative, technological); examining correspondences and equivalences among representations; making sense of representations used by others

 

Course Expectations:

What I expect from you:

  • You will act in a professional and ethical manner as befits the teaching profession.  The effort, detail, and thoughtfulness you put into your work should reflect the standards of performance you will be expected to meet as a teacher.
  • You will come to class ready to expand your knowledge of algebra.
  • You will work hard and take initiative in your learning as well as other's learning.  You will work actively with your peers, sharing, taking and giving, listening and explaining, questioning and answering.  You will be genuinely curious about others’ ideas, and take the responsibility for being prepared for participation in class discussions and group work, and for assisting your peers in coming to an understanding of mathematics.  You should expect the same from your classmates.

·         You will come ready to ask questions, explore, make mistakes, reflect and grow while helping others grow.

·         You will not settle for answers, rules and formulas—you will work until the rules and formulas are fully understood, and the answers are justified and connected to other ideas.

  • You will stay organized, keep up with the work, and get help if you feel lost.  The usual rule of thumb for college courses is a minimum of two hours of study out of class for every hour in class. 

Expect to spend at least 6 hours per week studying for this challenging college-level course. 

IF YOU FEEL THAT YOUR MATHEMATICS BACKGROUND NEEDS STRENGTHENING, BUDGET MORE HOURS PER WEEK TO FILL IN THE GAPS.

 

What you can expect from me:

·         Respect and Encouragement.  I respect your decision to pursue a degree in education in order to take on such an important role in our society—that of teaching our future generations.  I assume you are in this class because you want to be, just as I am.  We share a common desire to grow as teachers and learners.  You can expect our time together to be productive.

·         I want you to succeed!  I will provide the learning environment and opportunities for you to improve, broaden and deepen your understanding and appreciation of mathematics.  I will provide the support necessary for you to succeed in this course, both in and out of class.  I am available during my office hours and by appointment, as well as via email.

 

Attendance Policy: I expect that you are committed to learning and will attend every class on time and ready for a prompt start.  The time in class is crucial for achieving the goals of the course. 

The learning community we create in class will benefit from the sharing of ideas, questions and mistakes. 

For those students that miss no more than one class (excused or unexcused) the final exam score may replace the single lowest exam grade.

 

Grading:   Your grade will be determined by 2 exams (35%), weekly quizzes (10%), cumulative final exam (30%), homework (10%), community service learning (pen pal letters) (10%) & class participation (5%).

 

* Weekly quizzes: You will have a short quiz most Thursdays in the beginning of class. There will be no make-ups for quizzes you miss, but your lowest quiz score will not be counted in your quiz grade.  These quizzes are designed to give you an idea of areas that need more work and, therefore, you may make up quizzes for some credit after they have been graded.

 

* Two exams:  The first exam will be a written exam.  The second exam will consist of two parts, a written part, and an oral part.  The exams are tentatively scheduled: Exam #1: Thursday October 8th, Exam #2 (written part): Thursday, November 19th, Exam #2 (oral part): Tuesday, November 24th.

 

* A Cumulative final exam:    Tuesday, December 22nd, 11:00am–1:00 pm (may include both a written and an oral part)

 

* Homework and Writing Assignments:

1)       Reading Questions: The elementary school curriculum is in constant flux, and teachers are expected to adjust to the new methods.  Thus, you will be required to learn new mathematics on your own.  Searching for information and reading to learn mathematics (or any other technical material) are skills that take practice.  The reading questions provide opportunities to develop these important skills.

2)      Practice/Exploration questions/Projects: Questions from the book and additional questions from other resources will help you practice your algebra skills and your problem-solving abilities.  Budget your time wisely, and start working on the homework as soon as you receive it.  You may ask questions during office hours and via email. 

Budget your time wisely, and start working on the homework as soon as you receive it. 

Late homework will only be accepted with your attached “late voucher” up to one class after the due date.

 

** Community Service Learning Component:

Pen pal letters: Our class will have the opportunity to communicate weekly about mathematics with children in a fifth/sixth grade class.  More information will be provided.

 

Academic Integrity Policy: Cheating and Plagiarism are serious offenses and will be treated severely

(see http://sa.sandiego.edu/studentcode.html#rulesofconduct).  Although I encourage you to work with others, the work you turn in should be your own.  Always cite your sources and your collaborators.

 

“Those who can, do.  Those who understand, teach.”  --Lee Shulman