MED 200 Field
Experience in Secondary Mathematics Education
Instructor:
Dr.
Jody Magner
Bishop
Hall 325
878
Ð 6920
magnerjs@buffalostate.edu
Office hours: Monday 4:30 Ð 5: 30
Thursdays 11:15 Ð
12:15 & 3 - 4
COURSE OVERVIEW:
The goal of this course is to prepare
reflective practitioners for classrooms of diverse learners. This course is designed to help
students examine their motivations for becoming teachers of mathematics. This
course provides classroom and field experience designed to help the student
make an informed decision about a career in secondary or middle school
mathematics teaching. While observing local middle and high school mathematics
teachers throughout the semester, students will become familiar with current
school mathematics curricula; related mathematics teaching periodicals and
policy documents; and affective and societal issues surrounding teaching. The
emphasis is on reflective observation of teaching and learning, and the
classroom, school, and community contexts in which they occur.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
MED 200 students will develop techniques of critical
observation and reflection.
MED 200 students will observe, reflect and read about
middle and high school mathematics classrooms and classroom procedures.
MED 200 students will have the opportunity to observe
diverse populations of middle and high school students.
MED 200 students will identify some of the challenges
that confront teachers of all disciplines and, in particular, teachers of
mathematics.
MED 200 students will explore a variety of mathematics
education literature and will gain an understanding of the use and
interpretation of these resources.
MED 200 classroom discussions will facilitate a deeper
understanding of classroom experiences and observations.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Canestrari, A. S. & Marlowe, B. A. (Eds.). (2004). Educational foundations: An anthology of Critical Readings. Thousand Oaks, CA: sage Publications.
National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston,
Va.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS and EVALUATION:
General Classroom Activities and Attendance:
You will be expected to attend all
scheduled classes and participate actively in discussions. You are expected to
be a collaborative participant in all classwork. Your participation in our
class activities and discussions is important not only for your own learning,
but also for the learning of others. You are expected to participate
thoughtfully, responsibly and constructively in discussion on a regular basis.
Our discussions serve as a forum in which you can sharpen your thinking, test
your ideas, exchange insights and perceptions with the instructor and each
other and contribute toward others' ideas.
Within our classroom, we must all try
to work hard at providing opportunities for all perspectives to be voiced and
heard; it is through debate, discussion and the challenging of each other's
ideas that we will maximize the potential to learn about the central themes,
topics and questions of this course. We, as a class, will be vigilant about
encouraging discussions in non- threatening ways, creating conversations,
working to communicate with each other in the best possible ways, and striving
to be rigorous, patient, good humored, respectful and tolerant of diverse
viewpoints.
While you cannot participate and engage
in ideas in the class if you do not attend, mere attendance is not the central
criteria that will be used to assess the classroom activities portion of your
grade.
It
is expected that you will be prompt both for class on the Buffalo State Campus,
as well as to your field placements. If you do not know where the school is
located, find out and perhaps do a test drive BEFORE your first meeting, so you
will be on time.
CandidatesÕ Workshop:
All MED 200 students are required to attend Buffalo StateÕs ÒBecoming an Ideal Teaching
CandidateÓ workshop on Friday, March 18 from 3:00 Ð 5:00. Speakers will include Principals,
Superintendents and new teachers.
They will discuss the expectations for teachers and offer suggestions to
enhance your development as a prospective teacher.
Field
Placement:
Each student is required to complete at least 45 hours of field experience in local middle or high schools
in relation to MED 200 throughout the semester. Each week you will be given an assignment that will require
you to observe classroom events and interactions. In addition, you are expected to assist your cooperating
teachers at their direction.
Active
participation in the field classroom is required. In case of severe illness or an unexpected emergency, you
are expected to contact your cooperating teacher before your scheduled day. You are also responsible for making up
any missed meetings.
You
are required to keep a log of your visits and to bring the log to each class
meeting. Teacher signatures are
required for all field experience hours.
Further elaboration about placements will be handed out separately.
Use of Cell Phones and Pagers:
While in our classroom at Buffalo State
College, as well as in your placement, please turn off all cell phones and
pagers. This is a disruption to the entire class. If you are facing an
emergency situation which necessitates that you keep your phone or beeper on,
please notify the instructor before class begins and be as discrete as you can
while in class. Otherwise, please turn it off or choose vibrate as your ringer. There should
not be a need to have a beeper or cell phone turned on at any time in your
field placements.
Assignments:
Readings:
You will be required to read selected
sections from the texts as well as articles distributed in class. You will be
required to type responses to various questions within the readings. You may
have quizzes addressing the readings. You will be required to work with other
students in our class outside of class time to give presentations on specific
portions of the readings.
Journals:
You will be expected to complete a
typed, double-spaced, grammatically correct journal for each day you attend
your MED 200 field placement. The format of this journal should follow that
discussed in class. Once you have started your field experience, you are
expected to turn in at least one journal a week, or it will be considered a
late assignment and penalized accordingly. The dates below are benchmarks you should meet.
By
Thursday, March 3: Journals for at
least 12 hours of field experience
By
Thursday, March 24: Journals for
at least an additional 12 hours are due.
By
Thursday, April 21: Journals for
at least an additional 14 hours are due.
Friday,
May 6: All remaining journals are
due.
Presentations:
Each student will give two
presentations during the semester.
One presentation will be on a section of either national or state
standards for school mathematics.
The other will be an article from Mathematics Teacher or Teaching
Mathematics in the Middle School. Each presenter MUST bring copies of
the article to class at least one week prior to his/her presentation. Each presenter is responsible for his/her OWN
critique of the article being
presented, which is due the day of the presentation.
Portfolio:
This assignment will be constructed
throughout the semester. The weekly journals, reflections and contemplation of
your individual views during the semester, and your placement spreadsheet will
all be part of this project. Further elaboration of this project will be
provided.
In order to maintain consistency in grading, points will be deducted from assignments that are submitted after the due date and time. 10% of the total point value will be deducted for each weekday the assignment is late.
It is NOT
possible to repeat an assignment to raise a grade unless otherwise stated on a
specific assignment.
Your
grade for the semester will be determined as follows:
Journals 40
%
Presentations 30%
Journal
Article 15%
Standards
15%
Final Exam,
(TBA during week of May 9) 10%
Portfolio 10%
Class Discussions and Other Reflective Activities 10 %
Total 100%
It is not possible to pass this class without the
required 45 hours of field experience logged
Academic Honesty Policy: Plagiarize: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use(a created production) without crediting the source. (Webster's ninth New Collegiate Dictionary)
ANY work handed in by you, with your name on it, is assumed to be YOUR WORK
and YOUR WORK alone. If you work
with another person or a group of people, or find a solution in another text,
which you wish to submit, PLEASE give credit where credit is due. Any materials that are not
documented are defined as plagiarism. Students who engage in plagiarism, cheating on
examinations, multiple submission of the same work, unauthorized collaboration,
falsification and/or any other violation of academic integrity will receive a
grade of zero in the assignment. A
second offense will result in an "E" grade in the course.
Behavior: (recommended
College policy)
"All students are expected to comport themselves in a manner that
does not convey to others in the college community any disrespect, intolerance,
or rude behavior based on age, race, religion, color, national origin, gender,
sexual orientation, disability, or marital, veteran, or socioeconomic status.
All members of the college community are expected to contribute to the college
environment to move the college community in the direction of respect for
all". And
"The instructor may have removed from the classroom anyone who, in
the instructor's opinion, is disrupting the educational process, and pursue
formal changes against the student under the college judicial system, pursuant
to Buffalo State College's Procedure Regarding Disruptive Individuals."
Accommodations for Students with
Disabilities: If you have a disability or suspect
that you have a disability that requires any type of accommodation to fulfill
the requirements of this course, please contact the Office of Special Services
for Students with Disabilities at 878-4500.