MATH101

Description

This is a two-semester sequence designed for students interested in teaching elementary and middle school levels. The importance of mathematics education at the elementary school level cannot be emphasized enough. This is where the stage is set for a child's future success or failure in mathematics and the sciences. Proper mathematics instruction unifies different aspects of education such as listening and reading comprehension, oral and written expression, logical and critical thinking, problem solving skills, focusing on a task and developing work ethics and discipline. In teaching mathematics, an elementary school teacher faces great challenges. First, the developmental level of the students imposes natural restrictions on what can be taught and when. Second, mathematics can be understood only when a certain logical sequence is followed, when the knowledge is gradually built up, and constantly used and reinforced until it becomes "second nature". Third, a child has to be given the proper tools to succeed, in order to keep the level of frustration to a minimum. Although this course touches on all these different aspects of teaching mathematics, the emphasis is on understanding the main ideas of elementary mathematics, the logic behind the algorithms, the development of mathematical intuition, the proper sequencing of the topics, and the understanding of how mathematical concepts fit together, what they are based on and where they lead.