Master of Education in Mathematics Education (1-8)

Lesley's degree program in mathematics for elementary and middle school teachers emphasizes deep mathematics content knowledge and helps teachers connect this knowledge to classroom practice and their own students' understanding of mathematics.

This program is offered in a face-to-face/hybrid format and is also offered online. It may also lead to professional licensure at the 1-6 or 5-8 levels, with a prerequisite of initial license in elementary education or middle school mathematics.

PDF of the program sheet with course descriptions.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

CMATH 6107 Constructing Mathematical Understanding: Number and Operations I
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 rationale numbers.

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CMATH 6108 Constructing Mathematical Understanding for Number Theory
Participants develop a solid conceptual understanding of the branch of mathematics known as number theory. Topics include properties of prime, composite, abundant, deficient, and perfect numbers, divisibility rules, and the use of geometric and other representations for finding prime factorizations, and greatest common factors. Participants will also investigate the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, computing in different bases, and arithmetic progressions.

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CMATH 6109 Functions and Algebra I: Building Mathematical Understanding
Participants develop a solid conceptual understanding of the branch of mathematics known as algebra. Topics will include ratio and proportion, slope, operations with integers, the notion of function, absolute value, linear versus non linear functions, sets, equations, inequalities, simultaneous equations and demand functions.

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CMATH 6110 Functions and Algebra II: Broadening the Base
This course builds its prerequisite, Functions and Algebra I, studying wider classes of functions, their graphs, and applications:  detailed study of quadratic functions; solutions of quadratic equations; applications in physics and optimization; introduction to general polynomials and rational functions, with applications to physics and optimization; exponential functions with applications to growth and decay, and Newton's law of cooling.

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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 6112 Geometry and Measurement II: Circles, Symmetry, and Solids
The second geometry and measurement course starts with a focus on measurement and picks up where course one leaves off. Topics include finding the area of irregular shapes, investigating circles, exploring symmetry, and looking at both the geometry and measurement of 3 dimensional solids. Participants will continue to explore how processes of mathematical explanation and justification 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 6114 Statistics and Data Analysis
This course on descriptive and inferential statistics uses a collaborative inquiry approach that will develop the participant's ability to critically collect, analyze, and describe qualitative and quantitative data and a variety of verbal, visual and numerical ways. The course will lead participants to becoming both better producers of statistical information and more critical consumers of data based claims and arguments.

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CMATH 6115  Concepts of Calculus: Change and Infinity
Building on prior number, functions, and geometry courses, calculus extends ideas developed there to the concepts of limit and change. Participants are introduced to an important branch of modern mathematics and are shown how calculus relates to other more elementary areas of mathematics. Topics include ideas of a limit, the concept of instantaneous change, and the fundamental theorem of calculus.

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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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EEDUC 7121 Assessment Issues in Mathematics: Summative and Formative
This course is designed to engage participants in the examination of both summative and formative assessments and their implications for teaching and learning. Various types of classroom assessments and how they can be used to make instructional decisions based upon student responses will be developed. Participants will also examine how to make sense of the scores reported via standardized tests, what they mean, and what the implications are at the district, school, classroom, and individual student levels.

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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.