MATHDan

As you peruse your content area textbook, please complete the following activities and/or questions. You may place your responses on this page.
 * Textbook Survey—Mathematics **

1. Write a bibliographical entry for the book using APA format.

Brumbaugh, Douglas K., and David Rock. //Teaching Secondary Mathematics//. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006. Print.

2. What are the authors’ backgrounds in education?

Brumbaugh received a BS from Adrian College and a masters and a doctorate from the University of Georgia and teaches college, in-service, and K-12. Rock received a BS from Vanderbilt University and a masters and a doctorate from the University of central Florida and is a professor and Dean of the College of Education at Columbus State University.

3. Read through the Prefaces. What are 2 things that you learned about the book or author?

I learned that the first section of the book is meant to, hopefully, just server as a reminder of what you should already know, and that the book includes historical references which are something I'm always a fan of.

4. Looking at the Table of Contents, what are the 3 main sections of the book?

1. General Fundamentals 2. Mathematics Education Fundamentals 3. Content and strategies.

5. Which chapter should you definitely read before you begin the unit project?

Chapter 3: Planning

6. What do PTHND stand for?

Problem Solving Technology History National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Do

7. A general format for a math lesson plan is provided on page 7. How does it compare to the RIO format? (What is similar? What seems missing?)

Much of the setup is similar, except that it does not include putting down the standard that the lesson covers. Also the lesson introduction they describe could mean just an engagement, or a statement of purpose. But after that much of the content of the lesson plan would also be found in RIO.

8. Of all the chapters in the book, which one interests you the most? Why?

Chapter 7: Discovery, because I believe that one of the most important parts of learning mathematics are the times when you are able to figure out and truly understand a new idea on your own.

9. Of all the chapters in the book, which one will you probably not read during this course? Why?

Chapter 9: General Mathematics, because my hope is to be a high school teacher, and then preferable the higher level content areas, and in those cases my students should be past learning general mathematics.

10. What is one section in particular that you would like to discuss further with your content advisor?

Chapter 5: Technology, because I'm curious as to how helpful the information in that chapter is given that it is from 5 years ago.

=Three Trends in Mathematics:= In looking at the achievement and participation levels of students in the United States, there is a noticeable divide between boys and girls. As such, a big question has been looking at whether there truly is any difference in the ability levels of boys and girls when it comes to mathematics. Then, if there is no difference in ability between boys and girls, you have to start looking at why is there still a difference in their achievement and participation levels, and how we can close the gap. It would seem that there is still a level of holdover from the stereotype that math is more for boys, but it's much more subtle and therefore tougher to pinpoint. Finally the US as a whole is falling behind many other nations in terms of mathematics achievement. In order to overcome this difference we must look at ourselves to see what we can be doing better as well as looking at what better performing nations are doing that is working well for them.

=Paper Abstract:= In my paper I look into three topics that are very important in mathematics today. The first looks into the gender gap in mathematics to determine whether there really is any difference in the abilities of boys and girls when it comes to mathematics. Research shows that while there are differences in the way boys and girls process mathematical information, it has a negligible effect on their ability to learn math, and that the gender gap is one of our own creation. From this, my second topic is looking into what is happening to create the gender gap, and what could be done in order to correct it. Research shows that most of the gap can be related to the fact that, to a certain degree, people still believe that mathematics is a boy's domain. Finally I decided to look into why the United States scores behind other industrialized nations on international tests. Research has shown that classes in the United States focus on learning the steps to solve numerous subsections of the varied subjects in mathematics as opposed to focusing on the more important central concepts and learning to truly understanding mathematics, which is a more beneficial approach.

=Writing in the Content Area: "Writing in Math"= What are the author's main arguments or points? - In this article the author, an elementary and middle school math teacher, talks about the importance of including writing in mathematics classes. She says that by using multiple styles of writing you are better able to gauge your students level of understanding as well as it assisting in their learning by helping them in organizing, clarifying, and reflecting on their thinking.

Does he/she support those arguments or points convincingly? Explain. - I think that the author does a good job of explaining the benefits that the use of writing in mathematics on an anecdotal level based on personal experiences that make a lot of sense to me, and mentions that National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "acknowledges writing as an important part of mathematics instruction." The only thing that I believe this article is missing, and perhaps the recent work on the research paper is influencing me, is any research based results to show that writing is beneficial to learning mathematics.

How does the information in this reading support what you will do or do in your classroom? Site some specific examples. - This article has a number of good ideas, though I'm not sure that I would implement them in the same way that the author talks about. I think that the four styles of writing (keeping journals or logs, solving math problems, explaining mathematical ideas, and writing about the learning process) would all be beneficial to student learning, and I would try to incorporate them all, though I would likely do more with explaining ideas and solving problems. Along with this I think that the idea of communicating to your students why writing is helpful, supporting their learning and giving you more insight into their progress, would be of the highest importance.

=Insights on Assessment= From my meeting on assessment with my content advisor there were a few new ideas that I encountered when it comes to assessment. One idea is that if you are using groups within you classes you could give out tests to s single member of each group, and the resulting grade is given to all students in the group, or you could give the same test to all group member and then average them and give the average grade to each student. Another is a way in which you can give or exams in mathematics; while there were no parts of the idea that were necessarily new or interesting, the idea that it could be used in mathematics is one that I had never really considered before.

=Why do I want to become a teacher?= The reason that I want to become a math teacher starts with the fact that I really enjoy math, and want to have a job where I am using it as often as possible. I have also had numerous experiences where I have helped others learn mathematics, whether it be tutoring or just helping out a friend, and I have always found it highly enjoyable when I was able to get someone to the point where they were able to recognize that they truly understood what I had been helping them to learn. By combining these two things together I am hoping that not only will I be able to successfully teach my students to truly understand mathematics but also be able to show them my enthusiasm and passion for mathematics and hope that I will be able to spark these same feelings in as many of my students as possible.

=Content Advisor Insights= I would say that the biggest insights that I have gotten overall from working with Jill is to try and use whatever resources are available to you whenever possible to make things easier for yourself. Before this semester I didn't really use any outside resources when creating my lessons and units and it would often times take exceedingly long. But when working on projects this semester I actually used textbooks and other resources and it sped up the process immensely. Along with this is using other people familiar with your content area as a resource to help you with ideas, planning, and as someone to bounce ideas off of in general.

=Unit Accommodations Reflection= For my unit plan the easiest accommodation to work with is the student not having technology available for use at home. My unit does not require the use of technology at any point, and so this would not at all hinder the student's learning. The most difficult accommodation to work with would be a student who has a broken wrist and writes slowly if at all. The first thing I would do to overcome this would be to provide the student with a copy of the daily notes, either hand written, or if the class has a smart board, saving and printing off everything that is written down on the board. I would also use some group work that would allow the student to be paired up with someone who can write everything down. For the test I would try to modify it to try and make it into a mostly oral test if possible, or potentially be a writer for the student, copying down everything they say about how to solve problems.