Course Description
Theoretical bases for mathematics curriculum.
Athena Title
ADV STUD MATH CURR
Prerequisite
(EMAT 7050 and EMAT 7080) or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The course is designed to: 1. Survey the school mathematics curriculum, in the United States and other countries, from an advanced point of view; 2. Examine information on a variety of curriculum development projects in mathematics, using the information to address issues that have confronted the developers and implementers of new materials; 3. Develop skill in analyzing aspects of a selected project and presenting it to others; 4. Survey and analyze various approaches to curriculum evaluation; and 5. Provide information about and opportunities to reflect on current and past issues in the school mathematics curriculum.
Topical Outline
1. The course begins with a general discussion of curriculum. It then looks at some issues of curriculum change and innovation. An attempt is made to provide a more theoretical orientation than is taken in the corresponding master’s course EMAT 7080. 2. During the course, students read and discuss in class a variety of articles on curriculum issues, including articles on international comparisons of curriculum. They also read and discuss a reprinted version of Howson, G., Keitel, C., & Kilpatrick, J., (1981), Curriculum development in mathematics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. They write short papers dealing with the readings. 3. Students select a curriculum development project from a country other than the one with which they are most familiar; obtain information about the project, including materials it has produced, using the university libraries and the Internet; and write a paper, due near the end of the semester, in which they first give a brief description of the project and its activities and then analyze the project from the perspective of any of various issues discussed during the course. They are given assistance in locating information about projects, and each student checks his or her selection with the instructor for its appropriateness. 4. At the end of the semester, each student makes a class presentation in which he or she describes the project chosen for the paper and then leads the class through an activity or two based on materials produced by the project. The student serves as the teacher, with the other students serving as the class; the purpose is to give a sense of how mathematics is treated in the project. Students presenting a project provide a brief handout with details on the project and how to obtain more information about it.
Syllabus
Public CV