Choose a few classrooms to observe. Try to observe a variety of math courses in a variety of grade levels (preferably high school, possibly middle school if your schedule does not permit observation of high school lessons), taught by a variety of teachers. Every class is different, and every teacher has a different teaching style, so it would be best to observe different practices.

You may either choose schools/classes from the following list, or make your own arrangements. However, any of your own arrangements have to be pre-approved by your instructor. So if you choose to make your own arrangements, please let your instructor know as soon as possible which school(s) you would like to observe classes in.

The following teachers have agreed to occasionally have observers from our class. However, you should keep in mind that some days may be inconvenient (a test may be given; or a teacher may have other committment and have a sub; etc.) For that reason and also to be polite, before you go to observe a lesson, send an email to the teacher (copy to your instructor) stating that you are a Fresno State student taking the Capstone Mathematics for Teachers class, and asking whether it would be OK to observe their lesson on such and such date. Remember to arrive in advance so that you have time to find the building and the room and to introduce yourself to the teacher before class. Ask where you could sit so that not to disturb the class. Stay quiet, don't talk to the students, and don't disrupt the class in any way. You must stay for the whole class because if you leave in the middle of class you will disrupt the class.

• Hoover High School

  Best days are Tuesday through Thursday. T is an even day and W is an odd day (i.e. the periods are longer on these days), Th is an all period day (with shorter lessons). Some Mondays are minimum days, and tests/quizzes are often given on Fridays, so it would be best to avoid M and F. Here is their bell schedule. CST testing is April 20, 21, 27 and 28, so don't plan your observations for those days. Plan to arrive about 15-20 minutes before the class. Park anywhere in the visitor spaces, go to the office and pick up a visitor badge before you go to the lesson. Return the visitor badge before you leave. Here is the school map.

  Teacher: Ron Moore (Ron.Moore@fresnounified.org)
  Algebra 1 Intervention: Periods 1-4
  Geometry: Period 6

  Teacher: Stacey Faught (Stacey.Faught@fresnounified.org)
  Geometry: Period 7
  

  Teacher: Martin Ha (Martin.Ha@fresnounified.org)
  Algebra II: Periods 2, 3, 4, 6

  Teacher: Jahn Trutna (Wayne.Trutna@fresnounified.org)
  Algebra 1 Intervention: Periods 1-4
  Geometry: Period 5

  Teacher: Ysabel Oliva (Ysabel.Oliva@fresnounified.org)
  Statistics AP: Period 1
  Algebra 2 GATE: Periods 3, 6
  Algebra 1: Periods 2, 5

• University High School

  Email the teacher (please copy to your instructor) before attending any class, asking if it would be OK to observe a class on a certain day.

  Teacher: Daniel Jones (danieljones@csufresno.edu)
  Room: 8
  Geometry (M-F): 9-10am, 10-11am, 11-12pm, 1-2pm
  Discrete Math (T-F): 2-3 pm

• McLane High School
  There is a small visitor parking lot in front of the school. However, very often all of the spaces are taken and you may have to park on the street (there is a small street across Fresno street from the school where there is no time limit. Both Terry and Angela are Fresno State graduates - feel free to contact them with questions about parking, they may be of more help than your instructor. In any case, allow enough time to find place to park. You will also need to sign in at the office before you go to the classroom.

  Teacher: Terry Pendergast (Terry.Pendergast@fresnounified.org)
  Building/Room: M-24
  Course/Periods/Times: Algebra (Per 1/2, 8:00-9:21), Geometry (Per 3/4, 9:26-10:46 and Per 7/8, 1:23-2:43)

  Teacher: Angela Imirian (Angela.Imirian@fresnounified.org)
  Building/Room: S-215
  Course/Periods/Times: Geometry (Per 12, 8:58-9:49)

  Teacher: Miguel Teran (Miguel.Teran@fresnounified.org)
  Building/Room: M-09
  Course/Periods/Times: Algebra (Per 3/4, 9:26-10:46; Per 5/6, 10:52-12:12, and Per 7/8, 1:23-2:43)

  Teacher: Karen Finch (Karen.Finch@fresnounified.org)
  Building/Room: M-20
  Course/Periods/Times: Algebra (Per 1/2, 8:00-9:21; Per 5/6, 10:52-12:12, and Per 7/8, 1:23-2:43)

  Teacher: Nune Grigorian (Nune.Stepanyan@fresnounified.org)
  Building/Room: A-230
  Course/Periods/Times: Algebra II (Per 11, 8:00-8:58 and Per 13, 9:55-10:46)

Upon completion, you must turn in:

• time sheet (template here - this semester, there is no form that the teacher has to sign, just make sure to record (on the time sheet) the teachers' names),
• your notes (handwritten),
• your reflections: describe the concepts taught, including definitions given, theorems stated and/or proved, and procedures/algorithms described; were the definitions and statements and/or proofs rigorous? Could they be given more rigorously? If so, how? If not, why not (i.e. what additional knowledge would be needed that is not covered in high school)? Were the procedures/algorithms explained (i.e. explained why they would work, under which conditions they would work, etc.)? Which questions did the students ask? In particular, did they ask to clarify any concepts/theorems/procedures? Which of the teacher's answers or examples were most helpful to the students? Feel free to include any of your thoughts or comments or suggestions. While our main focus is on the content, comments on any teaching styles observed are welcome too. A good detailed paper is expected to be at least 2 pages long (for each lesson observed).

Below are a few opportunities: math teams/clubs that are interested in working with us, and CSUF Math Field Day practice sessions. Choose any that you would like to lead/help with. You should team up with other people in our class, and work in small groups (of 2-4 people), or just let me know which days would work best for you and we will see who else wants to work on those days. You will need to meet before each club meeting/problem solving session to go over the concepts, problems, and solutions. Let your instructor know when your group is meeting so that the instructor can attend your meeting if possible.

• Hoover High School Math League - room 41 (see school map), Materials
  Choose any dates from the following list:
  Wednesday 3/17, 2:45-3:45 - Bases other than 10   (Felipe, Xai) - canceled due to lockdown at school
  Thursday 3/18, 2:45-3:45 - Bases other than 10   (Gerald, Guillermo, Tami)
  Wednesday 3/24, 2:45-3:45 - Counting and probability   (Need three volunteers)
  Thursday 3/25, 2:45-3:45 - Counting and probability   (Amy, Chrissy, Tami)
  Wednesday 4/7, 2:45-3:45 - Proportional reasoning, ratios and rates   (Felipe, Xai)
  Thursday 4/8, 2:45-3:45 - Proportional reasoning, ratios and rates   (Amy, Chrissy, Matt)
  Wednesday 4/14, 2:45-3:45 - Coordinate geometry   (Need three volunteers)
  Thursday 4/15, 2:45-3:45 - Coordinate geometry   (Amy, Chrissy, Matt)
• Math Field Day Preparation Sessions
  1. Saturday 2/20, 2-4 PM, S2 107  
     • High schools: topics to be determined
       (last year: Counting/probability; Pythagorean theorem, Area, and Volume. Problems and solutions
       ideas for this year: Number theory; Functions)
       Decide on your role: observer or assistant (Michelle, Morgan, Teofilo).
       To observe, no prior notice is required; come to S2 107 on 2/20 by 2 PM, sit and observe. Claim 2 hours.
       To assist, sign up ASAP, attend a 2 hour planning meeting (Thur, 2/18, suggestion: from 2:30-4:30 PM in PB 340; other times are possible), and help on 2/20 as assigned. Claim a total of 4 hours of field experience. (Already have three volunteers signed up. If you want to help, you are welcome to do so in the middle schools section.)
     • Middle schools: various topics,
       roles as above; no prior notice is required to observe; contact Dr. Agnes Tuska (agnest@csufresno.edu) for details if you want to help.
  2. Saturday 2/27, 2-4 PM, S2 107   (Michelle, Morgan; Need one more volunteer for HS! - updated 2/11 9:00PM)
     • High schools: topics to be determined
       (last year: Equations and inequalities involving radicals, exponents, and logs; Complex numbers and roots of polynomials. Problems and solutions
       ideas for this year: Geometry; Trigonometry; Areas, Volume, Equations in Geometry and Equations with Trig functions)
       Decide on your role: observer or assistant (up to 3 assistants are needed).
       To observe, no prior notice is required; come to S2 107 on 2/27 by 2 PM, sit and observe. Claim 2 hours.
       To assist, sign up ASAP, attend a 2 hour planning meeting (Thur, 2/25, suggestion: between 1-4 PM in PB 340; other times are possible), and help on 2/27 as assigned. Claim a total of 4 hours of field experience.
     • Middle schools: various topics, contact Dr. Agnes Tuska (agnest@csufresno.edu)
• Math Field Day
  Saturday 4/17, time to be determined by you and the Math Field Day coordinator, Dr. Carmen Caprau (ccaprau@csufresno.edu).
  However, only up to 2 hours will count for this part of field experience (more hours for extra credit - see the bottom of this page).
  Update (March 17): All Math Field Day hours will count! (The offer of extra credit described below is still valid though.)
  As many volunteers as possible are welcome!
• New: Developing materials for future Math Field Day preparation sessions
  Work in small groups, ideally 2 or 3 people, may be 4.
  Look through Math Field Day problems from previous years (Mad Hatter 9-10, Mad Hatter 11-12, Leap Frog 9-12). Choose a topic/area that is represented at the Math Field Day but has not been covered in previous Math Field Day preparation sessions (either on campus or at Hoover High). Here is the list of topics that have been covered: Counting/probability, Pythagorean theorem, Equations and inequalities with exponents and radicals, Complex numbers, Number theory, Trigonometry, Bases other than 10, Proportional reasoning, Coordinate geometry. Here are some suggestions for topics that you might choose: Inequalities, Sequences, Functions, Estimates, Money and/or Percents, Binomial expansion/coefficients, Logarithms, Logic; but feel free to come up with another topic. It is OK if your topic and one of the previous topics have some overlap (for example, if you choose to cover all inequalities, then you may include those inequalities that were covered in the topic "Equations and inequalities with exponents and radicals").
  Once you decide on the topic, find all (or some, preferebly at least 15) relevant problems from previous MFD contests, write up introduction and solutions, and prepare a 1-2 hour problem solving session on that topic. In other words, choose a topic and prepare materials that can be used for a MFD prep session next year.
  Finally, arrange with your instructor to run the session you planned. Your instructor will play the role of participants and will be working on the problems you selected, sometimes pretending to not know how to solve those problems and asking for an explanation :-)

If you would like to work with any other school/math club, let your instructor know as soon as possible. Any of your own arrangements have to be pre-approved by the instructor.

The instructor will attend and observe some of your meetings. So let your instructor know as soon as you have your schedule.

Upon completion, you must turn in:

• time sheet (template here),
• activities/problem collection/photocopies of any materials used/etc,
• reflections/thoughts/suggestion for improvement,
• evaluation filled out by you (top part) and the teacher (bottom part).
• peer evaluation filled out by you for each group member.
• peer evaluations filled out by your group members will be submitted by your group members directly to the instructor.

Grading: Your activities/materials and reflections will be evaluated by your instructor. Your performance will be evaluated by the teacher (if applicable), group members, and instructor.

• Complete additional hours leading/helping with extracurricular activities (i.e. in excess of 10 hours in that setting and in excess of 20 hours total of field experience). You will get 1 point (1% of your grade) for each additional hour.
• Volunteer additional hours to Math Field Day. You will get 1 point for each two additional hours. Update (March 17) You will get 1 point for each additional Math Field Day hour, just as for any other additional hour in the extracurricular setting.