San José State University
Department of Mathematics & Statistics
MTED 394F Middle School Mathematics Methods 
Summer 2021, Section 1

Instructor:	Ferdie Rivera, Professor	
Office Location:	Online, https://sjsu.zoom.us/j/4190545191
	
Telephone:	(408) 924-5170	
Email:	ferdinand.rivera@sjsu.edu (preferred)	
Office Hours:	By appointment	
Class Days/Time:	MW 10:00-12:00 AM	
Classroom:	 Synchronous online, https://sjsu.zoom.us/j/4190545191	
Prerequisites:	Passing score on all 3 CSET math exams or be within 3 courses of completing the subject matter preparation program, or instructor consent.	

Faculty Web Page and MYSJSU Messaging
Course materials such as syllabus, handouts, notes, assignment instructions, etc. can be found on on Canvas at http://sjsu.instructure.com. You are responsible for regularly checking with the messaging system through MySJSU at http://my.sjsu.edu (or other communication system as indicated by the instructor) to learn of any updates. 

Course Description
The place and function of mathematics in middle grades education, and improvement and evaluation of instruction. Teaching the subject matter of middle grades mathematics. Prerequisite: EDEL 108D, Passing scores on CSET I and II, or instructor consent

Course Goals
Students in this course will learn what it means to engage in skillful teaching in departmentalized mathematics classroom settings by developing strong core teaching practices and learning effective instructional strategies that are all appropriate to middle school mathematics. They will plan math lessons, develop effective ways of teaching and assessing math lessons, reflect on how they are planning their lessons and how those lessons support student learning and attend to the needs of all students, and apply what they learn from the hypothetically-structured instructional cycle to strengthen their teaching practices to support increased student learning, deep understanding and mathematical proficiency, and active engagement in their own learning.   

Underlying Theory of Learning to Teach Middle School and Junior High Mathematics: Skillful teaching of mathematics develops through repeated application of the instructional cycle of plan, teach & assess, reflect, and act, coupled with the following three fundamental questions that are meant to improve one’s own teaching practice: (1) What am I trying to accomplish? (2) How will I know that a change is an improvement? (3) What change can I make that will result in improvement? These improvement questions are meant to deepen the instructional cycle of planning, teaching and assessing, reflecting, and applying.		

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to provide rigorous, coherent, and focused instruction, teaching, learning, and assessment in mathematics for all students that lead to deep understanding of mathematics.

Course Learning Outcomes (Aligned to the CCTC TPEs and CalTPA Requirements)

TPE Alignment: Subject-Specific Pedagogical Skills: Students in this course:

1.	Demonstrate knowledge of and ability to teach content aligned with the California State Standards and the English Language Development Standards. 
2.	Demonstrate the ability to teach the state-adopted academic standards for students to meet or exceed the end of the year expectations for their grade or course in order to be college and career ready by the end of grade 12. 
3.	Enable students to understand basic mathematical computations, concepts, and symbols, to use them to solve common problems, and to apply them to novel problems. 
4.	Help students understand different mathematical topics and make connections among them. 
5.	Help students solve real world problems using mathematical reasoning and concrete, verbal, symbolic, and graphic representations. They require student collaboration and written and oral communication that demonstrates students’ ability to construct logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence. 
6.	Provide students the opportunity to use and evaluate strengths and limitations of media and technology as integral tools in the classroom. 
7.	Provide a secure environment for taking intellectual risks, model and encourage students to use multiple ways of approaching mathematical problems, and encourage discussion of different solution strategies. 
8.	Demonstrate positive attitudes toward mathematics, and encourage student curiosity, flexibility, and persistence in solving mathematical problems. 
9.	Use developmentally appropriate and diverse strategies to engage students in grades 7-12 to understand mathematics as a logical system that includes definitions, axioms, and theorems, and to understand and use mathematical notation and advanced symbols. 
10.	Assign and assess work through progress-monitoring and summative assessments that include illustrations of student thinking such as open-ended questions, investigations, and projects. 
11.	Engage students in the Standards for Mathematical Practice.

Required Texts
California Department of Education. (2015). Mathematics Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve. Sacramento, CA: Author. Available online: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf/draft2mathfwchapters.asp.

Required Readings and Materials
All other files and relevant documents will be uploaded to Canvas under Modules.

Course Requirements and Assignments

Grading Policy
Group Presentations (7 @ 25 pts)  		175 pts
			                                      
Grading Scheme

A – 95 and above		A-  90-95
B+ 85 – 90			B – 80 – 85		B-  75 – 80
C+ 70 – 75			C – 65 – 70		C- 60 – 65
D+ 55 – 60			D – 50 – 55		F – Below 50

Classroom Protocols

1.	Be on time. 

2.	An absence from class requires make up work. You are expected to develop a reflective essay on a topic that is related to the missed session. An essay needs to contain at least 1000 words and is graded 0 or 10 points. Expect the grading scheme to change in your case. 

3.	There is no revise-resubmit on any requirement.

4.	Upload all submissions to Canvas. Do not email them to my inbox. 

5.	All classroom discussions and collaborative activities require interaction, so please be responsive and respectful. 

I reserve the right to change classroom and grading protocols and schemes. You have the right to be notified of any changes in a timely manner, but I make all final decisions. 

University Policies

Per University Policy S16-9, university-wide policy information relevant to all courses, such as academic integrity, accommodations, etc. will be available on Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs’ Syllabus Information web page at http://www.sjsu.edu/gup/syllabusinfo/.
MTED 394F ACTIVITIES

Dates	Topics	Content Focus	Activities	Readings	Requirements due	
						
Week 1: June 7 & 9	Culturally Relevant Teaching

 	Ratio and Proportions	June 7: Developing Culturally Relevant Tasks

Aguirre: Lesson Analysis Tool

Mathematics Heritage Project

June 9: Group Presentations

Introduction to Performance Tasks 	Bonner: Practicing Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching

Gallivan: Revising Tasks to Be Culturally Relevant 

Desai et al: Elevating Students’ Mathematical Identities: A Heritage Project

Nabb et al: The Condo Problem: Is This Culturally Responsive Teaching?

McTighe: Performance Tasks	Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents I	
						
Week 2: June 14 & 16	Performance Tasks and Mathematical Modeling

	Proportional Relationships	June 14: Continuation of Performance Task Discussion

Cognitive Rigor Matrix

June 16: Group Presentations

Constructing Learning Goals 	Magaletto: Engaging Students through Modeling

Brand et al: Launching a Mathematical Modeling Lesson

Hunt and Stein: Constructing Goals for Student Learning through Conversation	Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents II	
						
Week 3: June 21 & 23	Achieving Learning Goals Through Rough Draft Thinking and Revising and Building an Access Bridge

 	Fractions and Fraction Operations	June 21: Developing Learning Goals and a Bridge Plan

June 23: Group Presentations

	Jansen: Ear to the Ground: Rough Draft Thinking and Revising in Mathematics
Coleman: Build a Bridge: Provide
Access to Grade-Level
Content for All Students

Strand and Bailey: Supporting Teacher Learning Through Sketching Standards	Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents III	
						
Week 4: June 28 & June 30	Orchestrating Productive Math Discussions

 	Integers and Rational Numbers	June 28: Orchestrating Productive Math Discussions

Strategies for Supporting Productive Struggles

Introduction to Canva (Poster Making)

June 30: Group Presentations	Bishop et al: Leveraging Student Thinking to Foster Productive Discussions

Luzniak: Mathematics Is Personal. Mathematics Is Debatable.

Curtis et al: Discourse Can Create a Learning Culture

Baker et al: Productive Struggle in Action

Ruef and Torres: A Menu of Risk-Taking Scaffolds

Gunter and Raymond: Communication and Metacognition in the Classroom

Candela et al: Discourse Actions to Promote Student Access
Hallman-Thrasher and Spangler: Purposeful Questioning with High Cognitive–Demand Tasks
Rhodes: Eliciting Critical Thinking through Purposeful Questioning

Sullivan et al: Navigating the Uncertainty of Sharing Mathematical Authority	Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents IV	
						
Week 5:
July 5 & 7	Developing Inclusive Learning Environments

 	Patterns	July 5

July 7 Group Presentations	Yeh et al: Reimagining Inclusive Spaces for Mathematics Learning

Watson et al: The Nature of Mathematics: Let’s Talk About It

Kalinec-Craig and Robles: Classroom Rules Reimagined as the Rights of the Learner

Eichhorn et al: Building the Optimal Learning Environment for Mathematics (UDL)	 Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents V	
						
Week 6:
July 12 & 14	Technology in Middle School and Junior High School Math Classrooms

 
 	Functions	
July 12

July 14 Group Presentations	Coleman and Walkoe: Productive Technology Use in Mathematics Explorations

Belnap and Parrott: Putting Technology in its Place

Davis: Constructing and Adapting Technology-Infused Lessons

Dick et al: When Students Use Technology Tools, What Are You Noticing?
	Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents VI	
						
Week 7:
July 19 & 21	Towards Equitable Instruction in Mathematics
		July 19

July 21 Group Presentations	Toolkit for A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction (https://equitablemath.org)

NCTM: What are Classroom Practices that Support Equity-Based Mathematics Teaching? 

University of Wisconsin: Building Equity in the Math Classroom (https://place.education.wisc.edu/blog/building-equity-in-the-mathematics-classroom/)
	Group Presentations and Submission of Relevant Documents VII