PRO 201: Seminar for Mathematics Teaching Assistants
Sect 1: Wed
Sect 2: Fri
Dr. Debra Borkovitz
ACW 210 x2230, dborkovitz@wheelock.edu
Office Hour: Wed 10-11 or by appointment. Other good times to find me are M Th 1-4 or before/after Friday classes.
Math 130/140 Courses/Instructors:
Galina Dobrynina
Math 140 meets Tu
ACW 208 x2325, gdobrynina@wheelock.edu
Office
Hours: T
Peter
Holden Math 130 meets MWR
ACW 202 x2124 pholden@wheelock.edu
Office Hours: Office hours: Mon, Thurs 10-11:15
Ivy
Schram Math 130
meets MWF
ACW 208 x2325 ischram@wheelock.edu
Office Hours:
Debra
Borkovitz Math 130 meets MWR
Website: There is a Blackboard Website for this course, which we will use frequently. You should check immediately to make sure you have been enrolled in the site. After logging in at http://courses.wheelock.edu, the course “MATTA: Math TA’s” should appear on your homepage.
Texts: We will have two desk copies of the
student text for the course, Bassarear Mathematics for Elementary Teachers,
for you to use. In class we will
discuss the best locations to keep these books (e.g. The Library,
Overview: This is a one credit, pass/fail reflective seminar for students who have already been hired as teaching assistants for one of the Concepts and Processes sequences, with the following goals:
1. To use your experience as a TA to learn mathematics, particularly specialized mathematical knowledge for teaching.
2. To use your experience as a TA to learn about teaching mathematics.
3. To become a more effective TA and teacher of mathematics.
Expectations: To pass the course, you are expected to do the following:
1. Attend and participate. This course only meets seven times; unless there are extenuating circumstances, you should be here. If you miss more than one class, you are in danger of failing.
2. Lead one or more weekly study groups. Leading a study group is a job, for which you have been hired and will be paid. You are expected to come to each study group prepared and to take your responsibilities as a TA seriously.
3. Post a reflection on the course website after each study group you lead and respond to other TA’s reflections. If you do not post regular reflections, you are in danger of failing the course.
4. Keep a notebook as a “record of practice;” more details are given below.
5. Read all assigned readings. As this is only a one-credit course, the reading load will be light.
Visiting Courses:
If your schedule permits it, please arrange with the instructor of your section to visit his or her course sometime in the first few weeks of class to meet your study group. As most of the study groups have shifted, even returning TA’s should try to visit courses.
Preparing for Study Group:
Before each study group, check the course website to find out the assignment that students in your group will be working on, or else communicate with the instructor in another way (email, in person, by phone).
If you have the time, it is strongly suggested that you read the appropriate section of the students’ text before study group. While not a requirement of the seminar, time spent preparing in this way will help you get more out of the seminar and help you be more effective as a TA. Whether or not you have studied the text in advance, write in your notebook before group.
Notebooks:
You will be given a bound,
quad ruled notebook to serve as your record of practice in your role as a
TA. The notebook is bound to emphasize
that it is a work in progress, where you save everything even incorrect mathematics and opinions that
later change. Don’t scratch anything
out! Better to make a note later to say
that your thinking has changed and to explain how and why. If you wish, you can number the pages and
keep an index or table of contents of some sort.
Before each study group, spend at least a few minutes working on the students’ assignment; this is another place where the more work you put in, the more you will get out of the seminar. If there’s a problem on the assignment that’s new to you, write down a few thoughts, and start trying to solve it. If the assignment contains material you know well, explain how you would do one of the problems, then try to think of some other approaches, and try to think of places that might be difficult for students in the course. You don’t have to do the whole assignment or spend hours and hours writing; the main goal here is to get you thinking about the mathematical work before the students arrive. If you don’t have a copy of the specific assignment, write a bit about the work students were doing the past group, and try to anticipate the upcoming group.
During the study group, use the notebook to write down any mathematical scratch work that you do. Jot down questions or problems students have that you find interesting, that you don’t know how to address mathematically or pedagogically, or that you think you handled well. Write down some observations when you listen to students. Try to keep your notebook somewhat in the background during the group; don’t stop the flow of the group to write things down.
After group (if possible, right after group), look over your notebook, and make additional comments/clarifications. Highlight anything that you’d like to use in your reflection or to bring up in seminar. You may write your reflection first in your notebook, and then type it up for posting, or you can type it first, and then paste or staple it in your notebook.
You can also write in your notebook at other times if you have thoughts relevant to the mathematics of the course or your work as a TA. We will finalize the logistics together for sharing your notebook with the instructor.
Flexibility: This is the second time this
seminar is being given, and you have chosen to participate. Please feel free to make suggestions on how
to make the seminar work better for all of us you are critical to its success!
Copyright 2005, Debra K. Borkovitz. You may copy or edit this material for non-profit, educational use only.
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