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Math 149S. Capstone Mathematics for Teachers. Spring 2023.

Pre/co-requisites: Math 151; Math 161 (may be taken concurrently); Math 171 (may be taken concurrently); Math 145 recommended.

Units: 4 (3 hours per week in class, 24 hours total of service learning).

Catalog Description: Secondary school mathematics from an advanced viewpoint. This course builds on students' work in upper division mathematics to deepen their understanding of the mathematics taught in secondary schools. In collaboration with local in-service teachers and university faculty, students will actively explore topics in number theory, algebra, analysis, geometry, and apply their content knowledge in a service-learning context.

Informal Course Description: Research shows that amount of course work in mathematics taken by an undergraduate does not correlate to teaching effectiveness. One issue is that the undergraduate curriculum usually is not linked explicitly to high school mathematics. In this class, we will revisit high school mathematics with advanced mathematical tools and maturity. We will look at key questions that come up in high school classrooms and consider rigorous answers as well as explanations accessible to students.

Course goals
Upon completion of this course, students should know/understand:

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

Grading policy: Your grade for the course will be based on your participation and your performance on quizzes, homework, tests, and field experience.

Homework 20%
Class participation 8%
Test 1 10%
Test 2 10%
Test 3 10%
Service Learning:
Observing and leading extracurricular activities
24%
Presentation on Service Learning 3%
Final Project 15%
       
Points earnedGrade
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
0-59% F

Class attendance: It is important to attend every class because group/class discussions are an important part of the course. Attendance may be taken but will not be directly a part of your grade. Participation, however, will be a part of your grade. There are several ways to participate: present your solutions to homework problems, class problems, work on other activities done in class, and contribute to the class discussions. Some class discussions will be based on reading assignments and service learning, others on the material studied in class.

If you miss a class, you should contact one of your classmates or the instructor to find out what was done in class and whether important announcements were made or homework was assigned.

Homework: There will be weekly homework, consisting of reading summaries/reflections and problem sets. Homework is due at the beginning of the class period (2:00 pm). No late papers will be accepted except in case of an illness or a serious family emergency. Homework is to be done using overleaf (on-line collaborative LaTeX editor). To submit, share your overleaf file/project. Use the "share" feature and give me the "edit" permissions. You may either add me as a "collaborator" or send a link by email. I will type my feedback in the file itself.
Recommended: you are encouraged to (but you don't have to) do the homework in a group of 2-3 people. In this case, make and share only one file/project. Make sure that you write the names of all group members in the file. If desired, you may change your group composition from one homework to another, and you may do some homeworks as a group and some individually. Three of the homework assignmens are documents related to Service Learning: the Service Learning Plan and two progress reports. These documents must be completed (individually) and will count towards your homework grade.

Tests: There will be three 1-hour tests. If you are unable to take the test at the scheduled time, please notify me as soon as possible, and before the test if at all possible. Make-up exams will be given only in case of a documented illness or serious family emergency.

Service Learning: Service Learning is a key component of this course. It will involve at least 24 hours of observation, preparation for, and instruction of extra-curricular activities (for advanced and/or interested students).

For up to 8 hours, you may choose to observe extracurricular activities. You are expected to turn in your observation notes and reflections. Your observation notes and reflections will be graded by your instructor.

For the majority of your hours, you will develop materials for and lead/assist with a math circle/club/team, competition practice, competition, or other extracurricular activities for interested advanced students. Your level of engagement, quality of preparation, and quality of instruction will be evaluated by your peers, the school teacher (if the activity is held at a school), and/or your instructor or another faculty in charge of the activity. You have to turn in your notes, any materials developed, reflections, and peer evaluations.

All papers (time sheets, materials developed, notes, reflections, peer evaluations, teacher's evaluations) related to prep meetings and activities held during dates 1-15 should be turned in by the end of the same month. Papers related to meetings/activities held during dates 16-31 should be turned in by the 15th of the following month. Exception: all papers related to meetings/activities held in the month of May should be turned in by May 15.

Finally, you should prepare a short presentation (about 5 minutes long) about your service learning experience. You may choose the topic you want to present on: a class activity you liked (whether the class was taugh by you or the teacher you observed), your lesson plan, teaching strategies you learned, etc. Since you will be often working in groups, presentations may be prepared by groups as well. However, in this case, make sure that all of the group members are involved in preparing the presentation as well as presenting.

Note. As indicated above, you are expected to complete at least 24 hours total of service learning. If you complete less than the required hours of service learning, your grade for this component will be prorated. If you complete more than 24 hours, you may receive extra credit.

Work with your instructor on the details of your service learning placement. See the page on service learning for more detailed information.

Extra Help: It is essential not to fall behind, because many classes will use the material studied previously. If you have trouble with some material, seek help in the following ways:

If you are having any difficulties, seek help immediately - don't wait until it is too late to recover from falling behind!

Computers: At California State University, Fresno, computers and communications links to remote resources are recognized as being integral to the education and research experience. Every student is required to have his/her own computer or have other personal access to a workstation (including a modem and a printer) with all the recommended software. The minimum and recommended standards for the workstations and software, which may vary by academic major, are updated periodically and are available from Information Technology ServicesĀ or the Universit Bookstore. In the curriculum and class assignments, students are presumed to have 24-hour access to a computer workstation and the necessary communication links to the University's information resources.

Students with disabilities: upon identifying themselves to the University, students with disabilities will receive necessary accommodation for learning and evaluation. For more information, see http://www.fresnostate.edu/studentaffairs/ssd/

Academic honesty: cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class and any instances will be reported to the appropriate office. For information on the University's policy, see the University Catalog (section Policies and Regulations).

Honor Code: Members of the CSU Fresno academic community adhere to principles of academic integrity and mutual respect while engaged in university work and related activities. You should:

Disruptive Classroom Behavior: student conduct which disrupts the learning process will not be tolerated and may lead to disciplinary action and/or removal from class. Once we return to F2F instruction, all safety protocols must be followed. In particular, masks must be worn properly at all times. Failure to comply will result in removal from class and a report on disruptive classroom behavior will be filed.

Copyright policy: Copyright laws and fair use policies protect the rights of those who have produced the material. The copy in this course has been provided for private study, scholarship, or research. Other uses may require permission from the copyright holder. The user of this work is responsible for adhering to copyright law of the U.S. (Title 17, U.S. Code). To help you familiarize yourself with copyright and fair use policies, the University encourages you to visit its copyright web page: http://www.fresnostate.edu/home/about/copyright.html. Digital Campus course web sites contains material protected by copyrights held by the instructor, other individuals or institutions. Such material is used for educational purposes in accord with copyright law and/or with permission given by the owners of the original material. You may download one copy of the materials on any single computer for non-commercial, personal, or educational purposes only, provided that you (1) do not modify it, (2) use it only for the duration of this course, and (3) include both this notice and any copyright notice originally included with the material. Beyond this use, no material from the course web site may be copied, reproduced, re-published, uploaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way without the permission of the original copyright holder. The instructor assumes no responsibility for individuals who improperly use copyrighted material placed on the web site.

Subject to Change: This syllabus and schedule are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances. If you are absent from class, it is your responsibility to check on announcements made while you were absent.

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