Goal:The purpose of this project is to bring together a diverse group of individuals that includes mathematics faculty, education faculty, an elementary teacher, ad hoc instructors, and teaching assistants to focus on improving the mathematics preparation of prospective elementary school teachers.
In supporting the Milwaukee Idea, this partnership among UWM and metropolitan Milwaukee aims to strengthen the teacher preparation program and will make the community stronger via better prepared teachers. |
This collaborative project will include the following four aspects:
- Enhance the curriculum of the two required mathematics courses for prospective elementary school teachers, 600-175 and 600-176, Mathematical Explorations for Elementary Teachers one and two. The revision of these courses will begin in summer 2000 and continue throughout the 2000-01 school year through a dynamic analysis of course revision, implementation and adjustments.
- Bring together a diverse group of individuals - mathematics faculty, education faculty, elementary school teachers, from Milwaukee Public Schools, ad hoc instructors, and teaching assistants (future mathematics faculty) - with a vested interest in the mathematics preparation of prospective elementary teachers to participate in ongoing discussions of teaching and student learning. These discussions will examine the mathematical knowledge needed by elementary school teachers, instructional techniques that should be used in these courses, and active learning tasks and assessments for use in these courses.
- Enhance the instructional effectiveness of individuals (mathematics faculty, ad hoc instructors, and teaching assistants) who teach the 600-175 and 176 courses. This will be accomplished through reflective practice focusing on pedagogical approaches such as active student learning, small-group tasks, whole-group discourse, questioning strategies, use of student feedback to guide instructional decisions during a class session, and use of performance-based and concept-oriented assessments.
- Improve the mathematical knowledge of prospective elementary teachers allowing them to develop "profound understanding of fundamental mathematics"(Ma, 1999).
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