Unit information: Teaching and Learning in Mathematics in 2014/15

Unit name	Teaching and Learning in Mathematics
Unit code	EDUCM5301
Credit points	20
Level of study	M/7
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Professor. Brown
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Education
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

This unit supports participants in reviewing current thinking and recent research relating to the teaching and learning of mathematics. The focus is considering the impact of different learning theories on research in mathematics education and what the implications are for the practice of teaching mathematics.

Aims:

• To review current thinking and recent research relating to the teaching and learning of mathematics.

• To consider the impact of different learning theories on research in mathematics education.

• To consider the implications for teaching mathematics in schools.

Intended Learning Outcomes

After taking this unit, the student should demonstrate that they:

• are aware of a range of important issues within the field of teaching and learning in mathematics education

• have developed skills in library searches, academic reading and critical thinking

• have learnt to apply these skills practically by finding a literature base of interest and begun work on methodology and theoretical frames

• have become more confident about writing at Master's level.

Teaching Information

The pathway attracts a mixed group of overseas full-time students and home part-time students. This unit is designed to act as an introduction to study methods at this level. Each meeting is divided between discussion of a particular learning theory, in response to some given pre-reading, and consideration of the practical implications of the theory for the learning of mathematics. Full-time students meet as a peer-support group each week for half-an-hour as preparation before the formal session to focus issues arising from the reading. Part-time students discuss ideas with colleagues in school and contribute practical experiences from their classrooms to discussions.

Tutorial support is given for writing skills in response to the formative assessment tasks and in preparation for students to present their ideas for the summative assessment task to their colleagues for critical review.

The needs of a wide range of students, including those with disabilities, international students and those from ethnic minority backgrounds have been considered. It is not anticipated that the teaching and assessment methods used will cause disadvantage to any person taking the unit. The Graduate School of Education is happy to address individual support requests as necessary.

Assessment Information

A portfolio consisting of:

- three formative assessment tasks:

• To review own history of learning mathematics and influences on the teaching of mathematics.

• To review an article, chosen by the student, from the mathematics education journals.

• To consider the implications of the ideas from the article for future teaching practices or own research.

- summative assessment of one continuous piece of writing of 3000 words developing from the three separate tasks, highlighting the links between previous practice, theoretical frames and considering questions for future research.

Reading and References

For the Learning of Mathematics: An International Journal of Mathematics Education.

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education.

Educational Studies in Mathematics: An International Journal.

Chick, H. and Vincent, J. (Eds.) (2005) Proceedings of the 29th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education. Melbourne: University of Melbourne, and proceedings for previous years’ meetings.