Course Information
for
Math 320
Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers
Fall 2008 (14144 )
MWF 11:30-12:20
CW 143
by Zongzhu Lin
(Office: CW 210, 2-0573, Office hours: 1:30-2:20 MWF)
If you are visiting this page, either
you are taking this
course in the fall of 2008 or or you have got lost.
If you
are planning to take this course, I want you answer the following
questions before you come to classes.
(1) Why are taking taking this class?
(2) Why do you think you need to take this class?
(3) What do think you will learn from this course?
(4) What do you think you want to learn from this course?
(5) If you are planning to teach in an elementary school, do you think
the school today is the same as when you where were in school?
(6) Do you think classes in school will be about the same as when you
were school. If different, want are the differences?
(7) Do think the students are thinking the way as you did when you were
in
grade school? What are today's school students are thinking?
(8) Do you know the differences of teaching young children and adults
are the same in particular when you teach mathematics? If not what are
the differences?
(9) Is Math 320 for adults or for gradeschool children?
(10) Do you want the class (Math 320) be conducted in the same way as
you would be teaching in grade school? Should we have teacher parent
conferences during the semester?
Now we are in the YouTube age, the following are all from You Tube and
they are real. What is you view point?
The following is a list of some videos you should watch before you come
to class.
The link will point you to youtube videos and you should use back
button to return to this page, or just type the address http://www.math.ksu.edu/~zlin/m320
if you get lost in youtube.
Parents guide
some parents view this way: 1 Math Education: An
inconvenient Truth,
2, 3,
school board
members argues this way.
Some Educator's
view school mathematics views
Some teacher's way of teaching mathematics 1, 2,
Some claims to
"Professor B"'s way
"Another smart guy"
Kansas and Missouri governors' worry
Fun things to watch! But think what you will do!
1, 2, 3 Pa &Ma Kettle
find uranium,
4, 5,
Ma & Pa Kettle find uranium
What do college professor say
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7,
Past students of elementary school mathematics classes having their view
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
Who is right? what should you do when you become a teacher.
Here is my view: no one is right and every one is right. Teaching and
learning any thing is a complex process and there is no STANDARD
WAY to do it. The most important factor in students learning is the
TEACHER who understands their students, in which nono of the discussion
above mentioned. Everyone is searching for a (unique) magic way
(his/her way) to teach mathematics. Try to think of doctors
has one magic prescription that will work for all patients and
all illness with knowing a specific patients special
situation. A teacher is no different than a doctor. This is my
expectation of you and of myself. each day I learnt new things about my
students as they are changing.
Now are you ready to be a teacher and in particular to teach
mathematics to
our future generations?
Wait a minute, before you say yes, how much do you understand the
subject you are teaching. I won't claim that I understand the subject
to
the degree I wanted. Each day I learn new things even about the very
elementary mathematics.
The text book I am going to use this semester is the Singapore texts.
This is not an endorsment of the singapore math. We have to use some
text book as common ground for students. What matters will be what we
learn from them. I will tailor students background, students' view and
experience and will try to give a different perspective of the subjects
that those you have learned when you were in grade school. If you find
things you did not know from grade school in this class, that means you
are learning. If you find that you know everything, you are wasting
your time and and tax payers money (including my money too!)
Homework Assignement
(due by
5:00pm in the homework box next to CW 120)
HW1: Due on
Friday, Sept.5
hwset 1: 4, 5, 8
hwset 2: 2, 3, 4, 6
hwset 3: 2, 3, 5
HW2: Due on Friday, 9/12
hwset4: 2, 6, 8
hwset5:1, 2, 4. 9
hwset6:1, 2, 4, 6
HW3: Due on Monday 9/22
hwset7: 1, 2, 3, 4
hwset8: 1, 2, 3, 4
hwset9: 1, 2, 4, 5
HW4: Due on Friday 9/26
3.1. hwset 10: 1, 3, 4, 5
3.2. hwset 11: 1, 2, 5, 7, 8
3.3. hwset 12:1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8
HW 5 Due on Friday 10/3
3.4. hwset 13: 1, 2,4,5,7
3.5. hwset 14: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
3.6. hwset 15: 1(abcf), 2, 3, 4
HW6 Due on Friday 10/17
4.1. hwset 16: 3, 4, 5, 6(bd), 7, 8a, 9(a-prob 5
only, c), 10(a-21a, a-21g only)
4.2. hwset 17: 3, 7, 9, 10
4.3. hwset 18: 3(17ghi), 4, 5 (note the
misprint, it should be prob. 4), 6c, 8c, 10c,
HW7 Due on Monday 10/27
5.1. hwset 19: 2, 3, 6, 7
5.2. hwset 20: 1, 2, 4, 5
5.3. hwset 21: 1(d), 2, 4, 6(a)
HW8 Due on Monday 11/3
5.4 hwset 22: 1e, 2, 3ac, 4, 6(hint: any prime
p>2 is odd)
5.4 hwset 23: 1, 2, 3, 4b, 5c, 6a, 7, 10, 11ab
HW9 Due on Monday 11/10
6.1 hwset 24:
2a(acj), 2b(acj), 2c(4a,5b), 3(8 on
pg50, 7 on pg 51), 6a, 7
6.2 hwset 25:
1a(8a),1b(10a), 2ab(pro. 6), 3ac,7, 8,
9
6.3 hwset 26:
4ab, 5(5a, 7), 7ab, 9
HW10 Due on Wed 11/19
6.4 hwset 27:
1(4), 2bd, 3b, 4b, 5a,
6.5 hwset 28:
1c,3,4de, 5a, 6bc
6.6 hwset 29:
1a, 2d, 6cf, 9, 10a
HW 11: Due on Monday 12/1
7.1 hwset
30:1(6), 2(9), 8.
7.2 hwset
31:1(8), 6, 7(10), 8(9)
7.3 hwset 32:
1(6), 3(7), 5(6)
HW 12 Due Monday 12/8
8.1 hwset
34:1(vector model only), 5ab, 6, 7.
8.2 hwset 35:
2, 4, 5, 6b,, 7b(ii)
8.3 hwset 36:1,
2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13
HW 13 Due on Friday 12/12
9.1 hwset 37: 1b, 5, 8, 11
9.2 hwset 38: 1b, 2c, 3ae, 4dh
9.3 hwset 39: 1, 2, 5, 7
Essayes Related to Mathematics Education
Essay I: You
watch the videos, Math Education- An
inconvenient truth and Pa&Ma
find Uranium
Write about your thought about ballancing understanding concepts
and fluent in algorithms.
Essay II: Read
section 1.7. In this section, the word
Assessment. Write about your view point on assessment: why, and
how to integrate assessment into students learning. what role does exam
play in students learning in addition to assessment. (due on Friday, 9/19
in the homework box).
Course
Grade Computation
Course Exams:
50minutes in class exams: Exam I, Friday
10/17, Exam II. Friday 11/14
Final Exam: Tuesday, 12/16, 11:50am-1:40pm.
All exam rooms will be in CW 143.
Final Grade computation: ex I*20%+ ex II*20%+hw*20%+final ex
*30%+classroom participation* %10
Remarks: (1) Hw grade will be average of the total after dropping two
of the lowest grade (and cenverted into %)
(2) If final exam % score is higher than one of the lowest 50 min exam
scores for a student, than for that student, the final exam will be 40%
and the lowest 50-min exam will be 10%.
(3) Students are given name badges to wear in class and the 10% of
classroom participation will be assigned by the instructor based on
students participation in class as well as the esseys the students
turned in (and the quality of the essay). The quality of essay will be
based on whether the student has made an effort to the think and
discuss the issues in the essay. The instructure will periodically keep
the attendence and record student participation in classroom discuss.
Other informations related to
elementary mathematics education