Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Mathematics: Elementary Education (1-6) or Mathematics (1-6) Leading to Professional Teacher License

This program is designed for elementary educators (generally grades 1-6) who wish to strengthen their subject matter, research, and pedagogical knowledge and expertise in mathematics and mathematics education. It provides participants with experience in inquiry learning in advanced mathematics content courses, and encourages and supports teachers in becoming reflective learners and practitioners as well as keen assessors of their students' mathematical thinking.

Prerequisite: Initial MA license in Elementary (1-6) or Initial MA license in Mathematics (1-6).

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

EEDUC 6155 Developing Mathematical Understanding
This course is designed for teachers who want to learn more about how children develop mathematical ideas, how to assess children’s mathematical thinking, and how to foster the development of mathematical power. Through debate, video, case studies, reflection, and field-based applications, teachers will connect research on the learning of mathematics to their own elementary classrooms and strengthen their abilities to support children’s learning.

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EEDUC 6154 Meeting Diverse Needs in the Mathematics Classroom
This course considers the theory, research, and practical applications of ensuring that all children succeed mathematically. Gender, socioeconomics, culture, language, learning differences, assessment, and differentiated instruction are considered.

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CMATH 6103 Data Analysis
In a world dominated by quantitative information, it is imperative that all citizens be informed of the methods and conclusions of statistics. This course will focus on data analysis through the study of inferential statistics. After a brief review of descriptive statistics and probability, the course will focus on sampling distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing. Topics include significance tests involving means and proportions, linear and multiple regression and analysis of variance.
Restrictions for registration: Successful completion of an introductory statistics course or permission of instructor

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EEDUC 6126 Classroom and School Inquiry
Classroom and School Inquiry focuses on the understanding and critical analysis of educational research and methods for accurately communicating this information to the public. As teachers participate in redefining their educational roles, decision-making and action-oriented classroom practice will be critical in promoting student learning. Both require problem-solving, which is enhanced by the forming and testing of hypotheses, gathering data that is then analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated, and generating solutions. This course will engage students in this process by acquainting them with the knowledge and techniques necessary for them to become lifelong teacher researchers, and to present the results of their research effectively and professionally to a variety of audiences. Note: This course is a prerequisite to EEDUC 6127.

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EEDUC 6127 Action Research and Seminar
Students demonstrate their expanding understandings and competencies as teachers. They also collaborate with several classmates to design a research project that can have a direct impact on their school community, through which students may extend the research plan developed in an earlier course, EEDUC 6126. The six-credit option is designed to give students who completed a required induction experience or advanced education license an opportunity to demonstrate continued learning by applying that experience to their Lesley program and using their study to reflect on what they learned from their induction or licensure program. Prerequisite: Successful completion of EEDUC 6126 or an equivalent research course.

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CMATH 5102 Exploring Number
This course deepens students' prior work with the tools and modes of thinking that are specific to the nature of number. Topics include an historical examination of the development of number systems and number from counting to rational, irrational, and beyond including significant work with both zero and infinity. The significance and complexity of the invention of new kinds of numbers will be addressed. The course will also address the conceptual and mathematical basis of arithmetic operations, their relationships, and their representation as well as an examination of the often-overlooked role of estimation and number sense. The roles of definition, argument, proof, and abstraction in mathematics will be introduced through an examination of mathematical rules based on the operations. Throughout, the course will focus on the understanding and uses of mathematics, and a variety of ways to apply the ideas under study. Participants will extend their understanding of key ideas through individual and group inquiry, case study analysis, and guided research.

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CMATH 5103 Mathematics as a Second Language
A major theme of Mathematics as a Second Language is understanding algebra and arithmetic through language. The objective is to provide a solid conceptual understanding of the operations of arithmetic, as well as the interrelationships among arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Topics include arithmetic vs. algebra; solving equations; place value and the history of counting; inverse processes; the geometry of multiplication; the many faces of division; rational vs. irrational numbers and the one-dimensional geometry of numbers.

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CMATH 5100 Functions and Algebra: The Study of Patterns
This course focuses on algebra and algebraic thinking through a thorough investigation of functions of various kinds. Students will also develop their capacity for mathematical thinking through a collaborative inquiry approach that will involve generating mathematical data, identifying and describing patterns, representing those patterns in a variety of ways, developing mathematical explanations, and using patterns to make predictions.

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CMATH 6101 Number Theory
This course explores the tools and modes of thinking that are specific to classical number theory. Topics include: prime numbers and divisibility, congruencies, Diophantine equations, Euclid's algorithm, arithmetic progressions and applications of these topics. Students will be expected to experiment and formulate conjectures. There will also be an emphasis on writing clear and coherent explanations of mathematical reasoning. Participants will extend their understanding of key ideas through individual and group inquiry, case study analysis, and guided research.

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CMATH 5101 Dynamic Geometry: Intuition, Construction, and Proof
Through interactive activities, students will explore properties of geometric figures and solids and their relationships. They will use geometric language and reasoning to express ideas, justify reasoning, and generate, critique, and support conjectures. They will also study and create geometric proofs. Students will engage with central geometric topic ideas such as symmetry, similarity, trigonometry, and transformational geometry. The course progresses from the visual and intuitive to the formal and includes many real-world context problems. Restrictions for registration: Successful completion of an algebra course or higher-level math course at the undergraduate level.

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CMATH 6104 Measurement and Probability
This course introduces teachers to the theory of measurement (length, area, volume), develops geometric modeling in algebra, and introduces teachers to experimental and theoretical probability, and multiple methods for solving probability problems. All topics are presented in the context of problem solving; emphasis is placed on development of these mathematical ideas, and the course design makes connections with arithmetic and reinforces understanding of functions, functions notation, and topics from algebra.

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CMATH 6100 Calculus: The Mathematics of Change
Change is a fundamental fact of our physical universe. In this course, students will explore the underlying structure of change by studying calculus. This course examines the calculus in its conceptual and historical context and introduces its essential topics: functions, limit, continuity, the derivative, infinite series, and the definite integral. Connections among algebra, geometry, and calculus are emphasized as well as real-world applications.

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CMATH 6111 Geometry and Measurement I: From Polygons to Pythagoras
This first course integrates the study of geometry and measurement and includes lines, angles, investigations of triangles including sorting, similarity, trigonometry, and Pythagoras' Theorem. We will also investigate quadrilaterals, polygons, area and perimeter. Participants will examine the nature of geometric definitions, and follow a path that explores mathematical explanation, argument, and justification and how these processes connect to geometric proof.

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CMATH 6113 Probability: The Mathematics of Uncertainty
Participants will develop a solid conceptual understanding of the language and operations of arithmetic, as well as the interrelationships among arithmetic, algebra and geometry. Topics include place value and the history of counting, inverse processes, the geometry of multiplication, the many faces of division, and conceptual models of integers and rational numbers.

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CMATH 6116 Conceptual Calculus II for Elementary and Middle School
This course continues the study of calculus and its relationship to the K-8 classroom. Topics include infinite series, calculation of area, the definite integral, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus -- all viewed from the perspective of the K-8 classroom teacher.

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Lesley University reserves the right to unilaterally add, withdraw, or revise any course offering in the above-mentioned program of study, including policies, provisions, requirements, and fees.

Lesley University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity institution and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, creed, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, handicap, or disability in its education programs, employment, or in admissions to, access to, or treatment in its programs or activities.