Math 507 — Spring 2002 Approaches to Secondary Mathematics

Math 507 is a tour through contemporary issues in Mathematics Education. The course is appropriate for anyone who is going to teach mathematics, and those who will be teaching teachers of mathematics: ALL mathematics graduate students, senior undergraduate math majors, and math education MAT students.

We will address such questions as: What does it mean to think mathematically? How can we empower a broader range of students to do mathematics? How can we help students to integrate mathematics within their world experience? What new activities and approaches are being developed and used in k-12 mathematics? We will look at mathematics education through the following lenses: Philosophy of Mathematics Education; contemporary approaches and materials; NCTM standards and frameworks; reasoning, intuition and proof; social issues/systemic change; technology.

Exemplary activities and explorations from elementary/middle/high school topics will form a basis for our discussion of issues. In addition, we will view and critique videos of classroom lessons by outstanding teachers. Participants will read short papers, write short papers on discussion topics, and occasionally present ideas and lead discussions.