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Course Proposals

Course Name: Mathematics for Teaching - Problem Solving and Data Analysis 
Course Prefix: MTHE
Course Number: 6780
             Submitted by (Name & E-Mail):  Dixie Blackinton, dblackinton@weber.edu

Current Date:  3/11/2010
College: Select College
Department:   Select Department                              
From Term: Fall  2010 

Substantive

new 

Current Course Subject N/A
Current Course Number

New/Revised Course Information:

Subject:  MATH            

Course Number: 6780

 Check all that apply:
    This is for courses already approved for gen ed.
    Use a different form for proposing a new gen ed designation.
DV  SI  CA  HU  LS  PS  SS 
EN  AI  QL  TA  TB  TC  TD  TE

Course Title: Mathematics for Teaching - Problem Solving and Data Analysis

Abbreviated Course Title: Problem Solving&Data Analysis

Course Type:  LEC

Credit Hours:    or if variable hours:    to

Contact Hours: Lecture 3  Lab    Other

Repeat Information:  Limit 0   Max Hrs 0 

Grading Mode:  standard

This course is/will be: a required course in a major program
a required course in a minor program
a required course in a 1- or 2- year program
elective

Prerequisites/Co-requisites:

Prerequisite: A Bachelor's degree and at least one year of teaching experience in an elementary or junior high school.

Course description (exactly as it will appear in the catalog, including prerequisites):

This course will develop a firm problem-solving foundation. Using skills and strategies applied in mathematical contexts practicing teachers will learn to think, work with others, present solutions, and facilitate problem solving instruction in the classroom. This course will also provide practicing teachers a deeper understanding of probability and statistics content in the state core and instructional strategies to facilitate the instruction of this content. Prerequisite: A Bachelor's degree and at least one year of teaching experience in an elementary or junior high school.

Justification: There is currently a push in the state to increase the math content knowledge of elementary teachers. It is perceived that part of the solution is to offer inservice teachers (teachers who are currently teaching) additional training in math content infused with good pedagogy. The State Office of Education decided to build a program to support mathematics teaching patterned after the reading endorsement program which has been implemented successfully throughout the state. A committee composed of math and education faculty was convened to create the coursework for an endorsement program. Teachers will need to complete the coursework and pass a test to receive the endorsement. This course is one of six courses which together will meet the requirements of a new Utah State Office of Education Elementary Mathematics Endorsement. The endorsement includes five math content courses and one education course. There is much interest by Northern Utah school districts in having current teachers complete these courses either through a university or through courses arranged by the districts. Each course will be offered on a per demand basis. They will be financially supported by grants or school district funds. The state has requested that these courses be offered for graduate level credit at all universities in the state. They will not be offered to undergraduates. This will allow teachers who attain the endorsement to get a slight raise in salary. It is also hoped that teachers will go on to earn a Master’s degree. The Master's of Education in Curriculum and Instruction program director has agreed to accept credit from these courses as elective credit towards a Master’s of Education degree. Currently Ogden School District has requested WSU to offer these courses to their teachers beginning Fall 2010.

INFORMATION PAGE
for substantive proposals only

1. Did this course receive unanimous approval within the Department?

false

If not, what are the major concerns raised by the opponents?

There was unanimous support for offering the courses. One faculty member objected to using the MTHE prefix on the courses which is a designation that the course is a math education course as opposed to a mathematics course. The faculty member requested that a new prefix be attached to the courses. The objection is that there are currently MTHE 6000 level courses in the catalog for which the math content is at a higher level than the math content in the proposed courses. Because the proposed courses can only be used as elective credit towards a Masters of Education degree or to earn an Elementary Mathematics Endorsement from the state of Utah, the prefix was not of concern to any other faculty members. Due to time constraints it was decided not to pursue assigning a different prefix.

2. If this is a new course proposal, could you achieve the desired results by revising an existing course within your department or by requiring an existing course in another department?

There are no existing courses which teach these concepts at the depth needed by inservice teachers.

3. How will the proposed course differ from similar offerings by other departments? Comment on any subject overlap between this course and topics generally taught by other departments, even if no similar courses are currently offered by the other departments. Explain any effects that this proposal will have on program requirements or enrollments in other department. Please forward letters (email communication is sufficient) from all departments that you have identified above stating their support or opposition to the proposed course.

There is an undergraduate elementary math methods course (EDUC 4300)which covers the pedagogy of teaching math. There are no current undergraduate courses which teach the math content with the depth required by the state endorsement. The proposed course teaches the pedagogy through the mathematical concepts at an advanced level.

4. Is this course required for certification/accreditation of a program?

no

If so, a statement to that effect should appear in the justification and supporting documents should accompany this form.

5. For course proposals, e-mail a syllabus to Faculty Senate which should be sufficiently detailed that the committees can determine that the course is at the appropriate level and matches the description. There should be an indication of the amount and type of outside activity required in the course (projects, research papers, homework, etc.).

Syllabus

Course Title:   Mathematics for Teaching – Problem Solving and Data Analysis

Course Number:        MTHE 6780

Course Credit Hours: 3 credit hours

Prerequisites:             Elementary teaching experience

Catalog Description: 

This course will develop a firm problem-solving foundation.  Using skills and strategies applied in mathematical contexts practicing teachers will learn to think, work with others, present solutions, and facilitate problem solving instruction in the classroom. This course will also provide practicing teachers a deeper understanding of  probability and statistics content in the state core and instructional strategies to facilitate the instruction of this content.

 

Course Objectives:

During this course teachers will:

·         Select appropriate strategies, solve challenging mathematical problems in groups and individually.

 

Suggested Texts:

Parker, Thomas H. and Baldridge, Scott J. (2005). Elementary Geometry for Teachers. Portland, OR: Sefton-Ash Publishers Chapter 10.

 

Ministry of Education, Singapore (1981).  Primary Mathematics 1A-6A,Marshall Cavendish Education, 2003.

Johnson, K; Herr, T. & Kysh, J. (2004) Crossing the River with Dogs: Problem Solving for College Students, Key Curriculum Press (rites to book have been sold)

 

References:

Course Coverage:

1.      Problem Solving Topics:

 

·         Draw a diagram

·         Make a systematic list

·         Eliminate possibilities

·         Use matrix logic

·         Look for a pattern

·         Guess and check

·         Identify sub-problems

·         Analyze the units

·         Solve an easier related problem

·         Create a physical representation

·         Draw Venn diagrams

·         Convert to algebra

·         Evaluate finite differences

 

2.      Data Analysis

 

Formulating appropriate questions for data analysis research

Tools for collecting and organizing data:  (Tally marks, tables, pictographs, bar graphs, line graphs, frequency tables, line plots, stem-and-leaf plots, circle graphs, scatter plots, histograms, and box-and-whisker plots),

Measures of Central Tendency: what they are, when to use them, how to interpret (mean, median, and mode, including the impact of outliers),

Measures of Dispersion: what they are, when to use them, how to interpret them (range, variance, standard deviation, percentiles)

 

3.      Probability

Concepts of Probability:  (likely, unlikely, certain, impossible, sample space, experimental and theoretical, and recognition of probability as a value between 0 and 1)

Theoretical and Experimental Probabilities