Presentation Instructions First choose a date during the semester to give your presentation by writing you name on the schedule in one of the available time slots. There are approximately 20–25 available dates and up to two students may present per date. Read the section of the book to be covered on that day and decide what you would like to present. You may choose from several suggested topics or you may choose your own topic. When you have chosen a topic, send me an email with your chosen topic for my approval. A list of possible topics (and, eventually, the list of chosen topics) is available on the course webpage. Student presentations will be approximately 10 minutes long. After the presentations there will be a brief Q&A in which classmates may ask questions about the material and/or discuss the themes of the presentation topic. Students giving presentations are encouraged to make the presentations ‘active’ and to end the presentation with an interesting discussion question or problem for the class. Students give presentations on topics in elementary school mathematics for their elementary teacher peers. They will be graded on their understanding and mastery of the mathematics, their presentation delivery, and their ability to relay their mathematical understanding to other students in the course. Grading Choosing an appropriate theme. (3 points) Choose a theme for your presentation that is focused on one particular type of question, problem, or skill related to the elementary mathematics topic you have chosen. Examples of themes include: — Challenges: Explain why the topic is especially challenging to elementary students or elementary teachers, and discuss how this challenge could be addressed. — Methods: Explain how the mathematical content could be taught in different ways to reach different types of students. — Common errors: Present research on which are the most common problems that elementary students have on the material in your book section. You can search the internet for questions that elementary students often ask about your topic or ask elementary students or teachers what elementsary students have problems with. — Editorial/Opinion: Present one or more sides of a debate or a discussion on the best way to teach a mathematics skill relating to your topic. — Testing and evaluation: Discuss the skill objective that is desired for an elementary student within this topic and how this skill level could be objectively evaluated. Of the three points, two are earned by clearly describing the theme that you have selected and developing the theme in your presentation. The third point is earned by including at least one reference to a journal article, book, or web page. Mastery of the Mathematics: (4 points) Acquire a solid understanding of the mathematics of the presentation topic. Depending on the topic this may require reading the appropriate section of the book carefully, working through examples, and doing homework problems until you have a solid mastery of the material. Carefully determine which problems
should be covered or what methods should be used to explain the material. It may be the case that the mathematics itself is not very difficult, in which case you would present your mastery of the mathematics by presenting familiarity with the different methods that can be applied or with the common mistakes that elementary students make. Of the four points, two are earned by appropriate selection of mathematics problems at the appropriate level for college students, The other two are earned for having a mathematically accurate presentation. Skillful Presentation: (3 points) Presentations should be 10–15 minutes long. Address your theme and explain the mathematics behind the topic in a way tha effectively conveys the mathematical understadning that is required to knowledgeably teach the material. Effective teaching methods such as active ‘hands-on’ learning and student engagement are encouraged. Of the three points, one is earned by giving your presentation on the assigned date, one for providing me with a copy of the presentation on the assigned date, and one for having visual aids, illustrative examples, and an engaging or interactive presentation. Example Presentation Topics 2.2: Whole Numbers and Numeration (Jan 24) — Choose an ancient culture (e.g., Egyptian, Mayan, Babylonian, Roman) and describe their number system — Explain how binary (base 2) works 2.3: The Hindu-Arabic System (Jan 26) — Demonstarte how base–10 blocks work — Naming numerals; comparing the scales of very large numbers; vocabulary — Activity in base 4 or base 5 3.1: Addition and Subtraction (Jan 31) — Set model activity demonstrating a couple of addition properties — Thinking strategies for learning the addition facts using tables 3.2: Multiplication and Division (Feb 2 and 7) — Set model activity demonstrating a couple of multiplication properties — Which properties of multiplication are also true for division? Test 1 Review (Feb 9) — Any of the above topics that haven’t been covered, or find an interesting webpage or activity online about number systems and whole numbers 4.1: Mental Math, Estimation (Feb 14) — Present an interesting algorithm for mental computations — Class activity estimating the number of objects in a set 4.2: Algorithms for Whole Number Operations (Feb 16 and 23)
— Using base–10 blocks to demonstrate a whole number operation — Which schools in Alabama or elsewhere in the country are using different algorithms? — What research has gone into the effectiveness of different algorithms? 5.1: Primes, Composites, Tests for Divisibility (Feb 28) — Explain the sieve of Eratosthenes — Prime numbers — Explain Goldbach’s conjecture — Test for divisibility by 11 5.2: Counting Factors, GCF, and LCM (Mar 1) — How to count the factors of a number — Comparing two methods of finding the GCF of two numbers — Comparing two methods of finding the LCM of two numbers — There are an infinite number of prie numbers Test 2 Review (Mar 6) — Any of the above topics that haven’t been covered, or find an interesting webpage or activity online about number systems and whole numbers 6.1: The Sets of Fractions (Mar 20) — The concept of a fraction — Figuring out whether two fractions are equal — Ordering fractions from smallest to largest — Find an article about fractions in the elementary curriculum 6.2: Fractions: Addition and Subtraction (Mar 22) — Demonstrate how fraction strips work — Demonstrate another fraction manipulative — Find an interesting web page or activity on this topic 6.3: Fractions: Multiplication and Division (Mar 27) — Demonstrating multiplication by paper folding — Find an interesting web page or activity on this topic — Find an article about teaching fractions in the elementary curriculum Test 3 Review (Mar 29) — Any of the above topics that haven’t been covered, or find an interesting webpage or activity online about number systems and whole numbers 7.1: Decimals (Apr 5) — Finding the decimal of a fraction
— Locating decimals on the number line 7.2: Operations with Decimals (Apr 10) — Demonstrate how base–10 blocks can be used to model decimals — Scientific notation — Decimal multiplication using the lattice method 7.3: Ratio and Proportion (Apr 12) — Solving a word problem in three ways — Understanding ratios using colored m&ms 7.4: Percent (Apr 17) — Converting from decimals to percent — Common errors multiplying decimals 8.1: Addition and Subtraction (Apr 19) — Adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers using the number line or the chip method — Find an interesting web page or activity on this topic — Describe the additive inverse property of addition 8.2: Multiplication, Division, Order (Apr 24) — Find an interesting web page or activity on this topic — Explain problem #26 in section 8.2A — Explain the multiplicative cancellation property Chapter 9 (Apr 26) — What is a real number? — About the number π √ — About the number e or 2 Final Exam Review (May 3) — Any topic related to elementary mathematics — An activity for understanding the different types of number
Recommend
More recommend
