THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO
COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
¡BIENVENIDOS
(WELCOME)!
note:
From the top of http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/schedule.html,
you can access this syllabus if you misplace yours, want to explore its links,
or see any updates to it. Syllabus is
subject to modification by instructor to meet course needs, especially if there
are unexpected disruptions or changes in class size, resources, student backgrounds,
etc.
Course Number: MATH
5195-006 (CRN# 28810)
Course Title: Graduate Seminar (Teaching Mathematics and
Statistics)
Credit Hours:
1
Term: Spring 2013
Prerequisite: no
particular course is a prerequisite, but this course is intended for full-time
graduate students having or who will soon have their first teaching experiences
Course Fee: none
Course Meetings & Location: Wednesdays
10:30-11:20am in Bell Hall 130A and our default “finals week meeting
time” is scheduled by UTEP for Tues., May 8 10am-12:45pm. In the event of a major disruption (e.g.,
H1N1 epidemic, subzero weather, etc.), be prepared to maintain course progress
via alternative means (e.g., phone, Elluminate, Internet, a Blackboard course shell, etc.).
Also, be sure to check your email (especially your UTEP address) regularly,
especially for announcements in between our weekly meetings.
Instructor: Prof. Dr. Larry Lesser (rhymes with “professor”,
spelled like “<”)
I began teaching university courses (especially statistics!)
in 1988, and I’ve also worked as a full-time high school math teacher. My teaching innovations have generated
invited regional/national conference keynotes, stories/interviews in mass media
(e.g., CNN Headline News), textbook/curriculum writing, guest appearances on a
KCOS-TV show, and recognitions at my institution and beyond, including: 2001
AASU Gignilliat Professor and 2008-2011 UTEP CETaL
Fellow), 2010 Southwestern
Section of the Mathematical Association of America Distinguished
Teaching Award, and 2011 UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.
Office Location: Bell Hall 213
Contact Info: Phone: (915) 747-6845
Email Lesser (at) utep.edu
(please
include 5195 in the subject line; also, note that emailing me from your miners
address is better because it minimizes the chance of the UTEP server rejecting
it, which occasionally happens)
Homepage: http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/
Fax: (915) 747-6502 (note: this is
a departmental fax, so be sure to
have my
name clearly on it; be aware that staff are not available to relay faxes to me
outside the math dept’s hours of M-F 8-12, 1-5
Emergency
Contact: (915) 747-5761 (during math dept office
hours)
Office hours: MW 12:45-1:20pm and by appointment;
additional office hours or
changes
will be announced/posted later; you are also welcome to try stopping by anytime
for short questions; for longer questions, send me an email several possible
times that would work for you and I will reply with which option works in my
schedule for a live conversation
Textbook(s),
Materials: Rishel, Tom. A Handbook for Mathematics Teaching Assistants
(Preliminary Ed.)
Mathematical Association of
America. It’s FREE
at: http://www.maa.org/programs/tahandbook.html
Other resources include URLs or articles (e.g., see Additional Resources near the end of this syllabus)
which will be accessible online via the Internet or the UTEP library. Read/do
each assignment before the class meeting we discuss it.
Course Objectives (Learning
Outcomes): Students will….
Course Activities/Assignments: Students will participate in (and possibly
occasionally help lead) in-class activities/discussions, read assigned articles
and chapters, do (some form of) teaching and receive feedback, do structured
observations of other people teaching, attend a workshop, and write short
papers.
Assessment of Course
Objectives: Assessments include written
reflections/papers and records of attendance/participation in class
discussions.
Course Schedule: Census Day: Feb. 6
Reflection mini-Paper #1:
due on or by February 13
Reflection mini-Paper #2: due on or by February
27
Have your
teaching observed/videotaped in March
Deadline to Drop with a “W”: April 5
Teaching Statement: due on or by April
17
Reflection mini-Paper
#3: due on or by May 1
Last Regular Class Meeting: Wed.,
May 8
Finals Week: by UTEP’s schedule, we
would meet May 17 10am,
but it
looks like I’ll be at a conference, so we would need to find another time/method
in the unlikely event that there is any remaining class business
Grading Policy: after any rescaling needed for all
components to be on the 0-100 scale, the grade is determined by the usual
cutoffs of 90-80-70-60 based on these parts:
* Class participation/attendance (20%): this part is
calculated as 100(M – U –
E)/M, where
U = # of
days of unexcused absence/nonparticipation, M
= # of class meetings we have,
and E = max{0, -2 + number of days of
excused absence or nonparticipation}
This
reflects how crucial participation and attendance are for this kind of
interactive, beyond-the-book course, but without penalizing someone who has
rare (excused) absences.
* Reflection Mini-Paper
#1: Attending ONE teaching-oriented workshop (15%).
As long as the content applies to the teaching of mathematics/statistics,
there is great flexibility on choice: a workshop offered by http://cetalweb.utep.edu/, a workshop
at a teaching conference (e.g., http://cetalweb.utep.edu/sun/),
a teaching seminar offered by an academic department, or even an
already-archived webinar (e.g., http://www.causeweb.org/webinar/) or podcast (e.g., http://cetalweb.utep.edu/index.php/teaching-toolkit/).
Your mini-paper needs to be 1-2 pages long (typed, 12-point font, double-spaced) that states when/where the workshop was, has
a 1-paragraph summary of what it covered, and then has your own reflection on
what was most or least interesting/useful about it, what questions it answered for you and what questions it raised. (I treat these assignments
confidentially, so you can be honest.)
* Reflection Mini-Paper
#2: Observation of Someone Else’s (Live) Teaching (15%).
Find a peer or professor who agrees in advance to have you sit in the
back of the room during one class meeting and complete an observation using a
structured form of your choice. Some are fairly streamlined such as Appendix
III of the UTEP Peer Observation Booklet
(e.g., from http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=58396)
and others you can find online can be quite involved (e.g., http://www.horizon-research.com/instruments/clas/cop.pdf).
Offer to give the person you observed a copy of the observation if she
wants it but you don’t need to turn it in to me. What you do need to turn in to me is a
1-2 page paper (typed, 12-point font, double-spaced) briefly
noting the name of the course and objective of the lesson and then reflecting
on at least one strength you observed
and at least one area for possible improvement you observed. Finally, conclude
with a paragraph reflecting on what you learned from the experience of doing
the observation, including how you handled any challenges you encountered in
the observation process or with the form itself. Did you get ideas or insights for your current
or future teaching? This
reflection is assessed not just by completion or effort, and not by
grammar/spelling, but by depth and quality of insight and reflectiveness. (I treat these assignments confidentially, so
you can be honest.)
* Reflection Mini-Paper
#3: Your Spring 2013 Teaching (30%):
typed, 2-3 pages,
12-point font, 1” margins,
double-spaced. This will take into
account what you learned (and perhaps what you might or have changed as a
result) from the structured, formative feedback you received on your teaching
this semester (e.g., videotaped observation, and any further feedback you
received or solicited from students or peers; see end of the syllabus for more
detail). Include reflection upon your
greatest strengths and upon areas that have the most room for improvement.
* Statement of
Teaching Goals/Philosophy (20%) 2-3 pages, typed, 12 point font, 1”
margins, double-spaced; this narrative includes your ideas about teaching and
learning, a description of how you teach, and why you teach that way (examples
and background on this can be Googled, such as: http://ucat.osu.edu/teaching_portfolio/philosophy/philosophy2.html
or http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Write-a-Statement-of/45133/
or some links at http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=58396).
This statement will grow and develop over your career, but it’s good to start
thinking about this from the beginning.
Makeup Policy: Much of this course involves beyond-the-book group
activities, experiences or discussions that are virtually impossible to
recreate or “make up”. Successful
completion of this course is intended not only to imply you have demonstrated
sufficient knowledge acquisition, but also that you have been exposed to key
processes, modeling, and experiences. Therefore, if you are now in a situation
where you expect to have frequent absences, you might consider taking this class
another semester. In general (out of
fairness and logistics), late work will
not be accepted, and may be subject to a penalty in the rare borderline
cases that it is accepted at the instructor’s discretion.
Attendance Policy: Attendance
is required and here’s why: Much
of this course involves beyond-the-book group activities, experiences or
discussions that are virtually impossible to recreate or “make up”. Successful completion of this course is
intended not only to imply you have demonstrated sufficient knowledge
acquisition, but also that you have been exposed to key processes, modeling,
and experiences (which are especially important for future teachers, for
example). Therefore, if you are now in a situation where you expect to have
frequent absences, you might consider taking this class in another section or
another semester. Attendance is
generally taken each meeting using a sign-in sheet and it’s your responsibility
to sign it each day you attend before
the end when I am busy packing up materials. Late arrival, early departure, or blatant
nonparticipation may be counted as a half-absence or even a full absence,
depending on what is missed.
As the UTEP Catalog says, “When in the judgment of
the instructor, a student has been absent to such a degree as to impair his or
her status relative to credit for the course, the instructor may drop the
student from the class with a grade of “W” before the course drop deadline [April
5] and with a grade of “F” after the course drop deadline.” In practical terms, this means a student is subject to being dropped for 5 or more
absences (unless you have given me a reason I have approved). If you choose
to withdraw, I ask that you submit the formal paperwork and send me an email to
let me know rather than just stop attending class and assume you will be
withdrawn automatically. On a positive
note, a strong record of attendance will be taken into account if your final
average is a point below a letter grade cutoff.
It’s
your responsibility to….
(1) give me a written note or email
by the 15th day of the semester [Feb. 11] if you will have absence
for religious holy days (which are excused, of course).
(2) give me an email or written documentation as soon as
possible if you anticipate the possibility of missing large parts of class due
to exceptional circumstances such as military service/training, childbirth, or
competing on official UTEP athletic teams.
(3) let me know by email (Lesser (at) utep.edu) or
voicemail (747-6845) or daytime math dept. fax (747-6502) at the earliest opportunity if you have a
serious situation which may affect a test, major assessment deadline, the final
exam week meeting, or a large number of “regular” class days. If you miss a “regular class meeting”, you
don’t need to contact me, but you do need to get copies of notes and
announcements from a classmate if you miss a class; be sure you have contact information for at least 3 classmates for
this purpose.
Academic Integrity Policy: It’s
UTEP’s policy (and mine) for all suspected violations to be referred to the
Dean of Students for investigation and disposition (See Section 1.3.1 of the Handbook for Operating Procedures;
http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=23785)
Cheating, plagiarism and collusion in dishonest activities are serious acts
which erode the university’s purpose and integrity and cheapen the learning
experience for us all. Don’t resubmit work completed for other classes
without specific acknowledgment and permission from me. It is expected that work you submit represents
your own effort (or your own group’s effort, if it is a group project), will
not involve copying from or accessing unauthorized resources or people (e.g.,
from a previous year’s class). Cite
references that you do consult, using APA style
with complete citations even for websites and people you consult. For Group Work: Within a group, members are allowed to divide
up subsets of the project for which individuals will take the initial
responsibility for coordinating efforts, but it is assumed that by the time a
group turns in a writeup that all members have read,
discussed, contributed to, and understand what is being turned in. Group members may even discuss general ideas
and strategies with members of other groups, but NOT share parts of actual
written work. At a minimum, to be safe,
put away all written notes and writing materials and recording devices before
having any intergroup conversations. And
if you still see a “gray area,” play it safe and ask the instructor!
Civility Statement:
You are expected to follow basic standards of courtesy (e.g., “Student Conduct”
and “Disruptive Acts Policy” in the UTEP Catalog) and may be
dismissed from class for blatant or sustained disruptive behavior. Your
comments during classroom discussions need to focus constructively and
respectfully on the intellectual merit of a position, not critiquing the
person expressing it. You should avoid
side conversations when one person (me, or another student) is talking to the
whole class. Also, do not engage in
phone, email or text conversations during class. Laptops should not be open
unless they are being used to take notes during lectures, work on course
projects during group work time, or access an electronic copy of the textbook. (In other words, off-task activities such as
texting, Facebook, YouTube, or emailing are unacceptable because they distract
and disrupt class participation.) If you
truly are expecting an urgent call on your cell phone or pager, please let me
know and sit near the door to minimize disruption (and have your phone on
“vibrate” instead of anything loud), and have it handy so you don’t have to dig
through a backpack for it). Otherwise, please keep your phone/pager off during
class. Feel free to give your family
member or child care provider the phone number for an academic office or lab
(e.g., the Math Dept. 747-5761 and Bell Hall ACES lab station 747-8814) near
our classroom so you can rest assured that staff can quickly let you know if
there is a true emergency.
Disability Statement:
If you have or believe you have a disability requiring accommodations, you may wish to self-identify by
contacting the Disabled Student Services Office (DSSO; 747-5148; East Union Building 106; dss@utep.edu; www.utep.edu/dsso/)
to show documentation or register for testing and services. DSSO
will ask you to discuss needed accommodations with me within the first 2 weeks
of the semester or as soon as disability is known, and
at least 5 working days before an exam.
You are responsible to make sure I receive any DSSO instructions and
accommodation letters. DSSO
provides note taking, sign language, interpreter, reader and/or scribe
services, priority registration, adaptive technology, diagnostic testing for
learning disabilities, assistance with learning strategies/tutoring,
alternative testing location and format, and advocacy.
Military Statement:
Give me an email or written documentation as soon as possible if you anticipate
the possibility of missing large parts of class due to military service.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
Professionalism
Statement: Beyond the previously mentioned Civility Statement, students in
this course are required to exhibit professionalism that goes beyond avoiding
negative behaviors. This includes making
a good faith effort in preparation for and participation in individual and
collaborative class activities. A classroom
culture must be actively supported that understands that “wrong answers” are
usually correct answers to a different question or valuable learning
opportunities to address a common misconception. Finally, be open to local
opportunities for professional growth or service. For example, consider attending or presenting
at conferences such as the SUN
conference (March 1-2, 2012), encouraging K-12 students to enter an ASA Project
or Poster (due April 1), or joining (at cheaper student rates!) local (GEPCTM),
state (TCTM),
or national (NCTM, TODOS, or ASA)
professional organizations.
Confidentiality:
UTEP policy requires that inquiries about confidential information such as
grades cannot be done over the phone, but must be from your miners.utep.edu
account and accompanied by your 800 number.
If you want to know your course grade between our last meeting and when
UTEP puts grades online, you will have a chance during the last week of class
to give me a “secret code word” that I will post your course grade by at the
bottom of my homepage.
Additional
Pedagogical Bibliography and Resources:
Larsen, M. D. (2006). “Advice for New and Student Lecturers
on Probability and
Statistics.”
Journal of Statistics Education, 14(1), http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v14n1/larsen.html
Lesser, L. M. & Kephart, K. (2011).
“Setting the Tone: A Discursive Case Study of
Problem-Based Inquiry Learning to
Start a Graduate Statistics Course for In-Service Teachers.” Journal
of Statistics Education, 19(3), http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v19n3/lesser.pdf
Garfield, J. & Everson, M. (2009).
“Preparing Teachers of Statistics: A Graduate
Course for Future
Teachers.” Journal of Statistics Education, 17(2), http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v17n2/garfield.html
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/ResearchResources.html
has links for
searching
for education papers (some are education research, some just pedagogy)
useful books on the teaching
of mathematics/statistics:
DeLong, M. and
Winter, D. (2002). Learning to
Teach and Teaching to Learn Mathematics: Resources
for
Professional Development. (MAA Notes #57)
Friedberg, S., et al. (2001) Teaching Mathematics in Colleges and
Universities: Case Studies for Today’s
Classroom. American Mathematical Society and Mathematical
Association of America
Garfield, J. (2005). Innovations in Teaching
Statistics. (MAA Notes 65)
Gelman, A. & Nolan, D. (2002).
Teaching Statistics: A Bag of Tricks.
Gordon, F.
& Gordon, S., Eds. (1992) Statistics for the Twenty-First Century. (MAA Notes 26)
Hulsizer, M. R. & Woolf, L. M. (2009). A Guide to Teaching Statistics: Innovations and Best Practices.
Wiley-Blackwell.
Moore, T. (2000) Resources for
Undergraduate Instructors Teaching Statistics. (MAA Notes #52)
Rishel, T. W. (2000) Teaching First: A Guide for New Mathematicians (MAA Notes #54)
statistics:
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/STATResources.html
http://www.amstat.org/education/gaise/
http://www.amstat.org/education/resourcesforundergradteachers.cfm
http://www.causeweb.org/resources/
& www.causeweb.org/webinar/teaching/
math/general:
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/
http://education.ti.com/educationportal/sites/US/sectionHome/download.html
http://mathdl.maa.org/mathDL/3/
http://www.magnapubs.com/teachingprofessor/
http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/CC-09-01_Carr_Math_chapter1.pdf
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/equity.html
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/newteacher.html
http://www.amatyc.org/ (see “Publications” such as Crossroads)
http://www.phds.org/career-guide/teaching
http://www.ams.org/employment/job-articles.html
resources
provided for UTEP students:
(e.g., MaRCS: http://marcs.utep.edu Library room 218 (747-5366);
Writing Center: http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=47508,
Library 227; 747-5112;
CETaL (Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning): http://cetalweb.utep.edu/
Counseling Center: http://studentaffairs.utep.edu/counsel
Disabled
Student Services Office: www.utep.edu/dsso/
policy issues from the Handbook
of Operating Procedures (http://admin.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=30181):
check out key items in Section II (chapters 1.3.1, 6.3, 6.4) and Section III
(4.2, 4.8.2, 4.8.3, 4.8.4, 4.12, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.19.1);
Math Study Tips:
http://www.math.utep.edu/Faculty/lesser/mathtips.html.
Formative Feedback on Your Teaching:
One of the most important and
practical parts of this course will be the opportunity for you to get formative
evaluation (and perhaps make adjustments) on your teaching this very
semester!
If you are teaching a class this semester:
Try to first get some
“preliminary formative feedback” from your students (or a peer) sometime in mid-February
(earlier than that doesn’t give you enough of a “baseline,” later than that
doesn’t give you time to make adjustments).
The exact nature of this is up to you – it could range from a “minute
paper” you collect and analyze from your students (we’ll discuss this in class). Then, after having learned something from
that feedback, you will arrange to have your teaching (ideally, that
same class) observed anytime in March during one of the class meetings where
you are teaching. The class (or a recording of the class) will be observed by
me and/or someone like CETaL’s Dr. Meeuwsen. You can contact Karla Ramirez (747-8793; kgramirez@utep.edu; UGLC 124) to
schedule a person coming out with the CETaL videocamera to record the class. This will give you the benefit of later
watching your teaching from the students’ perspective, as you receive additional
feedback. You are required to email CETaL (and cc me) with
at least 2 weeks’ advance notice of when you would like to be videotaped
(give a couple of alternate dates, if possible) so that they can arrange for
their staff to do the taping – and keep me in the loop as well. Remember, this
is only for formative feedback-- the videotape will not be viewed by
anyone except you and the faculty giving feedback (e.g., me and/or the CETaL Director), and will be erased after you have watched
it and received feedback. Some
background about Assessment and Observation methods is at http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=58396
and at
www.tlataskforce.uconn.edu/docs/resources/Texas_Peer_Observation_Guidelines.pdf.
If you are NOT teaching a class this
semester:
You may be able to arrange
to “guest teach” a class (or half a class) for a
peer. Another option is you can teach
a short excerpt of a full lesson for your fellow 5195 students (who
will pretend to be students in an introductory undergraduate math or statistics
course—clear the topic with me in advance) during 8 minutes of our class time. We will try to set it up for this
micro-lesson to be taped so you can watch it and get feedback on it later.