Welcome

The Department of Mathematics is pleased to offer two programs for future teachers. Both programs promote mathematics as something that springs from reasoning, not as a mere collection of rules and skills to follow. We hope that our students will foster this view in their future students. If we are successful, both our students and their future students will have ownership of mathematics for life, instead of temporarily "borrowing" it from a teacher.

Courses

For those majoring in Early Childhood Education (pre-K to grade 3), Special Education, and Middle Childhood Education (non-math specialists, grades 4 to 9), we offer the following three course sequence:

• Math 105: Fundamental Mathematics Concepts for Teachers I
• Math 106: Fundamental Mathematics Concepts for Teachers II
• Math 107: Topics in Mathematics for Elementary Teachers

For those majoring in Middle Childhood Mathematics Teaching, we offer the following six course sequence:

• Math 108: Number and Algebraic Structures for Middle School Teachers
• Math 109: Geometry and Measurement for Middle School Teachers
• Stat 145: Introduction to the Practice of Statistics
• Math 110: Algebraic Thinking and Probability for Middle School Teachers
• Math 111: Concepts of Calculus for Middle School Teachers
• Math 212: History of Mathematics for Middle School Teachers

Philosophy and Resources

Our students re-create elementary and middle school mathematics for themselves, thereby deepening their own understanding of its meanings and uses. They not only solve problems but also learn to effectively explain those problems, the underlying mathematics, and methods of solution to their peers and their eventual students. Our goals are

1. to deepen our students' understanding of the mathematics they will teach,
2. to give our students' more insight into what it means to learn and teach mathematics.

• Mathematics Academic Content Standards for the State of Ohio.
• Polya's Ten Commandments for Teachers.

People

While our team does change from time to time, the core players are Herb Clemens, Vic Ferdinand, Betsy McNeal, and Bart Snapp. We are all very interested in both mathematics and math education and are very excited to be working with these courses.

Just for Fun

• Sesame Street: Feist sings 1,2,3,4.
• Little Twelve Toes (traditional version) or as performed by Chavez (rock and roll version).
• Ma & Pa Kettle Math. How did these folks come up with these crazy answers?