Math Seminar Class - Curriculum Development
Acting as the master's project for my M.A. in Mathematics Education, I completely developed the curriculum for a math course I call Math Seminar.
The motivation for my research project came from a class, Science Seminar, taught at my high school, Capital High in Helena. It was a senior capstone course that allowed students to look at science topics usually hidden behind the curtains, such as ethics in science, genetics, sustainability and local issues. It included field trips to Glacier and Yellowstone to observe first-hand current wildlife management practices. Many students acknowledged they left with a greater appreciation for science even though they hadn’t fully enjoyed biology, physics, chemistry, or Earth Science prior.
With the effects of that prior course in mind, I wanted to develop a math seminar course for high school seniors that integrates math, science, and technology with reading, writing, group projects and in-depth analysis. Acting as a capstone, the students would study history of mathematics topics the first quarter and the beginnings of proof, logic, and number theory the second. In the third quarter, we would investigate probability and geometries lost in the new Common Core Standards and finish the year with approaches to problem solving and community/school outreach through academic service learning projects. I want the course to show students the exciting aspects of mathematics they usually have to wait for, as this waiting period causes many to leave the field discouraged. For further details about the course, I’ve supplied a few slides below.
The other aspect of my project was surveying 300 students in 15 classes (5 at each of the three local high schools) to gauge student interest in such a class.The reason behind investigating student interest was that I want to have the ability to potentially propose this at my school somewhere down the road. It will be much easier to convince a math department or school board if I have real data, so I went out and obtained it. The survey and results can be found below.
The motivation for my research project came from a class, Science Seminar, taught at my high school, Capital High in Helena. It was a senior capstone course that allowed students to look at science topics usually hidden behind the curtains, such as ethics in science, genetics, sustainability and local issues. It included field trips to Glacier and Yellowstone to observe first-hand current wildlife management practices. Many students acknowledged they left with a greater appreciation for science even though they hadn’t fully enjoyed biology, physics, chemistry, or Earth Science prior.
With the effects of that prior course in mind, I wanted to develop a math seminar course for high school seniors that integrates math, science, and technology with reading, writing, group projects and in-depth analysis. Acting as a capstone, the students would study history of mathematics topics the first quarter and the beginnings of proof, logic, and number theory the second. In the third quarter, we would investigate probability and geometries lost in the new Common Core Standards and finish the year with approaches to problem solving and community/school outreach through academic service learning projects. I want the course to show students the exciting aspects of mathematics they usually have to wait for, as this waiting period causes many to leave the field discouraged. For further details about the course, I’ve supplied a few slides below.
The other aspect of my project was surveying 300 students in 15 classes (5 at each of the three local high schools) to gauge student interest in such a class.The reason behind investigating student interest was that I want to have the ability to potentially propose this at my school somewhere down the road. It will be much easier to convince a math department or school board if I have real data, so I went out and obtained it. The survey and results can be found below.
Presentation Summarizing Math Seminar
Student Survey
Results (click for link) Concerning:
Notes: 1) 293 participants 2) All confidence intervals are at 95% level 3) Conf. Int. Radius = radius of a confidence interval (also known as margin of error)