MATH 391B: Topics in Mathematics and Stat 1 to

Course Description

Topic: Number and Proportional Reasonning in Middle School Mathematics Teachers. This course is designed to deepen the teachers of middle school mathematics understanding of the rational number system and its extension to the real number system in a way that models appropriate pedagogy and raises curriculum issues relevant to teaching number concepts for conceptual understanding and computation fluency. A particular emphasis will be on understanding and applying concepts of proportional reasoning. Topics related to this emphasis include analyzing connections between fraction concepts and ratios and proportions; describing the relationship between proportions and direct and indirect variation; analyzing and applying the connections between proportions and similar figures, probability and sampling; and modeling and solving problems involving rations and proportions. Other major topics incude analyzing number theoretic concepts such as prime numbers and divisibility; and comparing and contrasting models of operations across number systems. Calculator and computer technology will be used as problem solving tools and for support in conceptual understanding. Curriculum resources and materials that support conceptual understanding are considered.