Todd Cochrane  

CW 209
e-mail: cochrane@math.ksu.edu
Office hours:   MWF 10:30

 Homework           Projects               Exams/Quizzes         Current Grade     Online Quizzes      Course Competencies
 
Text:  Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers, A Contemporary Approach,   6th Edition  by  Gary L. Musser, William F. Burger and Blake E. Peterson  (available at K-State Union Book Store and Varneys).  ISBN 0-471-16425-9.

Course Objectives:  The purpose of this course is to  help prepare you to be a teacher of mathematics at the elementary school level.  The primary objective is for you to obain a  mastery of  the basic  mathematical concepts that arise during the kindergarten through 8th grade years. Such mastery requires command of the subject material at a level above the one you will be teaching at. The emphasis of this course is more on content knowledge than on the methodology of teaching, which is dealt with in EDEL 473.  The topics we shall cover come directly from the  Kansas Teacher Licensure Standards,   NCATE Standards,  and  Kansas  State  Mathematics  Curricular Standards for K-12 . You are strongly encouraged to review these standards.

As indicated in the standards, it is important that future teachers not only understand the basic concepts of the content areas they are going to teach, but also  be able to explain  the concepts in different ways and  be able to  relate them to the students' own experience. This will greatly facilitate  the students' learning experience and  stimulate their  problem solving ability. In this course I will make efforts to emphasize reasoning and mathematical discovery as opposed to rote memorization; to look at material you may have learned before from a different angle; to discover and prevent common mistakes that you and/or your students might make; and to use examples from daily life in order to make the mathematics more meaningful and enjoyable.
 

A.   Classroom Participation. Attendance is mandatory  and will count as part of your grade as indicated below.  You are expected to read the text before coming to class each day. Most of the material presented should be a review of mathematics you learned earlier. Take notes from each section, keeping in mind the following points,

1. Do you understand the exposition? Make a list of any concepts you did not understand.
2. What is the difference between the material presented in the text and  what you learned in school?
3. How can you relate the mathematical concepts and algorithms presented  to examples from daily life? Make a note of those you don't how to relate.

If you have any condition, such as a physical or learning disability, which will make it difficult for you to carry out the work as I have outlined it or which will require academic accommodations, please notify me in the first two weeks of classes.  You may also wish to contact  the Academic Assistance Center, 101 Holton Hall.
 

B.   Homework.  Homework will be assigned on a daily basis and collected once a week. I will keep a list of assigned problems on this web page in case you miss a class.  Homework should be turned in to the homework mailbox labeled with my name at the end of the hallway.

C.  Group Projects.    There will be four group projects during the semester.  

D. Quizzes.      There will be 8-12 quizzes  worth roughly 10 points each.  A number of these quizzes will be online quizzes that you can take as often as you like.

E.  Exams.    There will be two 50 minute exams and a final exam.   Exam dates are tentatively Sept. 24 and  Nov. 5.   The final exam  is Friday,  December 17, 11:50-1:40 pm.
 

F. Grading.  (Keep track of your scores here.)
 

1)  Attendance: 40 points.     Deduct one point for each unexcused absence.

2)  Group Projects:  60 points.  Four  15 point projects.

   1)                 2)                 3)                 4)

3)  Quizzes:  80-120 points.   

      1)                 2)                 3)                 4)                   5)              6)          
      7)                 8)                 9)                10)                 11)            12)
     

4) Homework: 156 points.  14  twelve-point assignments the lowest of which will be dropped.

      1)                  2)                3)                4)                   5)                     6)                    7)

      8)                 9)              10)                 11)                12)                13)                    14)

5) Hourly Exams: 200 points.    Two  100-point exams.    1)                 2)

6) Final Exam:  200 points.
 

Chapter	Topics
Ch. 1:  Introduction to Problem Solving: strategy and approach -----3 classes	(1)  Inductive and deductive reasoning.  (2)  Pattern recognition.   (3)  Giving clear explanations.  (4)  Problem solving strategies.
Ch. 2:  Sets, Whole Numbers, and Numeration ----3 classes	(1)  Hindu-Arabic number system.   (2)  Set operations, Venn diagrams and their applications.   (3)  Number systems in other cultures.  (4)  Binary number systems and number systems in other bases.  (5)  Relations and functions in daily life.
Ch. 3:  Whole Numbers: Operations and Properties ----3 classes	(1)  Closure, Commutative, Associative, Distributive and Identity properties.  (2)  Division Algorithm.  (3)  Laws of Exponents.
Ch. 4:  Whole Number Computation: Mental, Electronic and Written -----3 classes	( 1)  Review briefly the standard algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.   (2)  Explore other algorithms and understand why they work.   (3)  Arithmetic in other bases.  (4)  Estimation and approximation.
Ch. 5:  Number Theory ---4 classes	(1)  Factors and multiples, divisibility, primes   (2)  Primality testing.  (3)  Factor trees and prime factorizations.  (4)  Counting factors, GCDs and LCMs.
Ch. 6:  Fractions ---4 classes	(1)  Develop models for fractions and their arithmetic.  (2)  Drill on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of  fractions.
Ch. 7:   Decimals, Ratio and Proportion, and Percent --- 4 classes	(1)  Representing numbers as decimals.  (2)  Converting decimals to fractions and vice versa.   (3)  Ordering decimals and fractions.  (4)  Decimal arithmetic.  (5)  Ratio and proportion.  (6)  Percentage and interest rates.
Ch 12:   Geometric Shapes ---3 classes	(1)  Vocabulary: square, rectangle, rhombus, kite, trapezoid, congruent, isosceles, etc.  (2)  Paper folding.  (3)  Symmetry  (4)  Angle  measurement.  (5)  3-dim shapes
Ch 13:   Measurements ---3 classes	(1)  Metric system and English system.  (2) Converting between different units.  (3)  Areas, Volumes and Perimeters.  (4) The meaning of pi.
Ch. 8:   Integers ---2 classes	(1) Models for negative numbers.  (2) Review properties of integers and operations on integers.  (3) Negative exponents.
Ch. 9:   Rational Numbers and Real Numbers, with introduction to algebra  -- 3  classes	(1) Summarize number systems and basic properties  (2)  Roots and and irrational numbers.  (3)  Understand infinite decimals

 
 
  

Back to the top