Graduate-Level Credit / Non-Credit Hours
3 Semester Credits, 5 Quarter Credits, or 45 Clock Hours
Course Description
This course is designed to provide teachers with relevant teaching strategies to make teaching and learning mathematics enjoyable. By the time students reach high school, many have been unsuccessful in learning math or find math to be tedious. Learning math can be positive when students can connect mathematics to their experiences. Students can be given the tools for discovering and constructing knowledge and for deriving meaning for themselves. In turn, they can develop life-long skills and transform into successful, confident problem-solvers. In this course, teachers will learn methods and skills to facilitate this development process. This curriculum is designed to address current math standards, particularly the emerging Common Core State Standards and will include the incorporation of technology in the mathematics classroom.
Global Goals of the Course
To deepen and/or apply the content and skills of the teacher’s existing professional knowledge base by meeting the following global goals of this course:
1. To explain and employ the Common Core State Standards in mathematics (NBPTS 2, 3, 5; ISTE 1, 5)
2. To explain and employ specific teaching strategies to the universal strands of algebra, geometry, and probability and statistics in high school (NBPTS 2, 4, 5; ISTE 5; InTASC 4, 5, 7, 8)
3. To analyze and employ the skills of constructivism so that students can derive meaning from mathematical experiences for themselves (NBPTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; ISTE 1, 5; InTASC 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
4. To demonstrate the use of technology in the mathematics classroom to improve teaching and learning (NBPTS 1, 2, 4, 5; ISTE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; InTASC 1, 5, 7, 8)
5. To describe the roles of formative and summative assessments in the mathematics classroom and how they impact teaching and learning (NBPTS 3, 5; ISTE 5; InTASC 1, 6, 7, 8)
6. To value the influence of learner equity within the mathematics classroom (NBPTS 1, 3, 4, 5; ISTE 1, 5; InTASC 1, 2, 3, 7, 8)
7. To employ other educational professionals to improve student learning (NBPTS 5; ISTE 5; InTASC 9, 10)
The course was great! The information was on point and the instructor was very supportive throughout the class.
I loved the enthusiasm the instructor brought to class every day, the overall course content, and the relevant assignments.
The professor was very knowledgeable and helpful about the content area and had so many great ideas that I plan on using with my class this year and beyond. I was surprised at how many resources there are for outdoor education and how beneficial it is to kids.