EDC 371 – Knowing and Learning in Science and Mathematics

Spring 2003

Instructor: Jennifer Christian Smith

Email: jenn.smith@mail.utexas.edu

Office: SZB 462B

Phone: 232-9682

Office Hours:

Teaching Assistant: Richard Vath

Email: rvath@mail.utexas.edu

Office: SZB 462D

Phone: 232-9684

Office Hours:

Course Meetings: Mon & Wed 9:00-9:50 in SZB 344

Fri 9:00-9:50 in SZB 424

Course Description:

This course focuses on issues of what it means to learn and know science and mathematics. What does it mean to understand a mathematical or scientific idea? How does what we know change and develop? How do students (and teachers) come to understand powerful ideas in science and math, both in the classroom and at home? And finally, how is assessment intimately associated with theories of knowing and learning?

Objectives:

1. Distinguish between various frameworks for understanding learners, including behaviorism, developmental and novice-expert cognitive approaches, and social and individual constructivism.

2. Describe how conceptual development evolves through social and cultural discourse.

3. Examine our own understandings of mathematical and scientific concepts, and discuss common misconceptions that individuals may have about these concepts.

4. Justify and discuss the merits of various forms of assessment for evaluating learner knowledge and understanding.

5. Discuss how the teacher’s understanding of concepts is related to the students’ developing understanding.

6. Begin the process of linking theories how people learn with the practice of teaching.

Course format:

One of the major goals of this course is to make explicit your pre-existing beliefs and knowledge about teaching and to integrate these into an understanding of teaching as a research-based discipline. To accomplish this goal, we will utilize readings, small and large group discussions, field experiences, individual and group projects, written assignments, and personal reflection. Your consistent and full participation is vital to this process! Come to class having completed the assigned readings and prepared to engage in thoughtful discussion – if you are unprepared, you will not gain anything from the class and are essentially wasting your time.

Course Readings:

Starred (*) items should be purchased at the bookstore. Other items are either available online or will be made available on e-reserves. This list may not be complete.

Bigge, M. & Shermis, S. (1999). How does Vygotsky’s thought and language imply a theory of learning? In Learning Theories for Teachers (pp. 124-132). New York: Longman.
 
* Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cockling, R. R. (Eds.)  (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded ed). National Academy Press: Washington, D.C.
 

* Driver, Rosalind, Squires, Ann, Rushworth, Peter, & Wood-Robinson, Valerie (2002). Making Sense of Secondary Science: Research into Children’s Ideas. Routledge Falmer: London.

Ma, Liping (1999). Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics. Lawrence Erlbaum: New Jersey.

National Science Education Standards (1995). Online at http://books.nap.edu/books/0309053269/html/index.html

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000). Online at http://www.standards.nctm.org/

Schoenfeld, A. (1988). When good teaching leads to bad results: The disasters of “well-taught” mathematics courses. Educational Psychologist, 23(2), pp. 145-166.

Sutherland, P. (1992). Criticisma of specific aspects of Piaget’s work:Bryant, Donaldson, and others. In Cognitive Development Today: Piaget and His Critics (pp. 64-78). London: Paul Chapman Publishing.

* Wilson, Patricia (Ed.) (1993). Research Ideas for the Classroom: High School Mathematics. Macmillan Publishing Company: New York.

Yager, R. & Penick, J. (1983). School science in crisis. Curriculum Review, 22(3), pp. 67-70.

Additional Requirements:

Access to a web browser and an email address. We will be using Blackboard as our course website, and I would like to try to make the course as paperless as possible. You will submit your assignments and receive course materials through Blackboard. Problems? Call the ACITS Help Desk at 475-9400.

Electronic reserves:

Items will be placed on e-reserve occasionally. To retrieve these items, go to:

http://reserves.lib.utexas.edu and select the link “Electronic Reserves Materials.” You can search from there using my name to find this course, or on EDC 371. When you click on the course, you will be asked for a password. The password is “teach”. I will use the same password for all e-reserves until further notice.

Graded Components:

20% Homework Assignments: These will be assigned approximately once a week and will require you to synthesize the material from the course readings and our in-class discussions. They will be posted on Blackboard and, for full credit, must be answered and submitted electronically by 9 am before class begins on the day they are due. These will be graded and returned to you via Blackboard in as timely a manner as possible. The lowest grade of these will be dropped.

I expect these assignments to be well-written, using correct grammar and spelling. In addition, your writing should demonstrate that you have understood and thought deeply about the course material. MS Word files are preferred.

20% Participation in class: This grade will be based on student attendance and contribution to discussions. Excessive absences and lack of contribution will affect this portion of your grade. This grade will be determined through peer-evaluation and instructor evaluation. A tentative rubric is provided in this packet.

20% Student Observations: This grade will be based upon your observations of children in various learning environments. More information will be provided shortly on this part of the course. Students who are caught creating/generating results or falsifying observation records will receive a failing grade for this course.

20% Teaching Rationale Statement: This document is intended to enable you to develop your ideas about learning and teaching and expand these beyond intuitive notions. You will turn in several drafts of your rationale over the course of the semester, and this portion of your grade will be determined by the quality of the drafts and final version of this document. A tentative rubric for the grading of the rationale will be provided in this packet.

20% Final Exam: The final exam will consist of a group analysis

of classroom discourse (to be completed in class), and an individual essay question (to be completed at home). The final is intended to summarize the course and your understanding of the course material.

Your grade will be calculated by computing a weighted average of the total number of points earned, with weights as shown above.

90% ≤ A ≤ 100%

80% ≤ B < 90%

70% ≤ C < 80%

60% ≤ D < 70%

E < 60%

In general, I do not accept late work. If an emergency arises that prevents you from submitting an assignment on time, please contact me as soon as possible.

TO USE BLACKBOARD:

1. go to http://courses.utexas.edu

2. type in your UT EID

3. select Knowing & Learning

4. use the menu bar to access course components:

INFORMATION: view the syllabus and the reading questions

ASSIGNMENTS: respond to reading questions; find details on other assignments

COMMUNICATION: send email, or log on to group pages

TOOLS: check your grades, or use the digital drop box

NOTE: Any student with a cognitive or physical disability who requires academic accommodation should contact Services for Students with Disabilities at 471-6259. For information see http://www.utexas.edu/depts/dos/ssd/

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Knowing and Learning Course Outline

Spring 2003

Date	Topic	Reading	Due
M 1/13	Introduction to the course
W 1/15	TIMMS	TIMMS Summary and McCann (e-reserves)	Concept map
F 1/17	No class – instructor out of town
M 1/20	No class – MLK Holiday
W 1/22	Beliefs about science and math knowing and learning	Schoenfeld, Yager & Penick (e-reserves)
F 1/24	Learning and understanding	Ch 1 of How People Learn, “Learning: From Speculation to Science”
M 1/27	Focus on conceptual learning in mathematics	Torrence, 2002 (online)	Assignment 1
W 1/29	Focus on conceptual learning in science	Penick, 1991 (e-reserves)
F 1/31	Constructivism and Piaget	Elkind, 1999 (e-reserves)
M 2/3	Behaviorism & constructivism	Read through Piagetian tasks (e-reserves)	Assignment 2
W 2/5	Piaget	Driver, 1993 (e-reserves)
F 2/7	Constructivism and an example from mathematics	Sutherland (e-reserves)
M 2/10	Piagetian tasks and implications for math and science learning	Chapter 1 of Research Ideas for the Classroom	Pigetian Tasks (Int #1)
W 2/12	More Piagetian tasks	If you are an interviewer, read though the protocols on e-reserves
F 2/14	Overview of Piaget and constructivism, critiques	review readings on Piaget and constructivism	O #1 due
M 2/17	No class – instructor out of town
W 2/19	Discuss second interviews	no reading assignment	Pigetian Tasks (Int #2)
F 2/21	No class– instructor out of town
M 2/24	Arithmetic	Ch 1 of Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics (e-reserves)
W 2/26	Representations	Ch 5 of Research Ideas for the Classroom, readings from NCTM Principles and Standards.
F 2/28	Algebra	Ch 7 of Research Ideas for the Classroom, readings from NCTM Principles and Standards.
M 3/3	Science (Julie Luft)	TBA	Assignment 3
W 3/5	Science (Julie Luft)	TBA
F 3/7	No class		Draft #1 of Rationale due O #2 due
3/10 – 3/14	No class - Spring Break
M 3/17	Vygotsky and the socio-cultural perspective	none
W 3/19	Vygotsky and the socio-cultural perspective	Bigge & Shrmis (e-reserves)
F 3/21	Social Constructivism	Leach and Scott (e-reserves)
M 3/24	Social Constructivism	None	Assignment 4
W 3/26	Pedagogical content Knowledge, interview assignment task	Ch 3 of Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics (e-reserves)
F 3/28	Pedagogical content knowledge	Selections from Knowing and Learning Mathematics for Teaching	O #3 due
M 3/31	Mathematical Reasoning	Ch 3 of Research Ideas for the Classroom, readings from NCTM Principles and Standards
W 4/2	Geometry	Ch 8 of Research Ideas for the Classroom, readings from NCTM Principles and Standards
F 4/4	Functions	Review Ch 7 of Research Ideas for the Classroom, readings from NCTM Principles and Standards
M 4/7	Science (Julie Luft)	Osbourne (e-reserves)	Assignment 5
W 4/9	Science (Julie Luft)	Review Intro to Making Sense of Secondary Science
F 4/11	No class		O #4 due
M 4/14	Experts vs. novices	Ch 2 of How People Learn	Interviews 3 and 4 due (Towers)
W 4/16	Transfer	Ch 3 of How People Learn
F 4/18	Problem solving	readings from NCTM Principles and Standards
M 4/21	Technology in mathematics learning	Ch 9 of How People Learn
W 4/23	Science (Julie Luft)	TBA
F 4/25	Assessment issues	read McNeil & Valenzuela	O #5 due
M 4/28	Wrapping it up – evaluations, etc.	TBA	Exchange Rationale draft with two classmates
W 4/30	Overview, concept maps revisited
F 5/2	In-class portion of final exam		Turn in concept map assignment
S 5/10	Final draft of Rationale due

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