PLEASE NOTE: During my sabbatical (June 25, 2009 to January 15, 2010), Dr. Shirin Malekpour will take over my role as course supervisor for the Math 13x courses; please contact her with any questions you would normally ask me during that period.
Math 135 and Math 136 are the first two math content courses of the new Mathematics-Science Dual Minor intended for all Elementary Education and Special Education majors wishing to enhance their content preparation in mathematics and science. It is particularly suitable for those Elementary Education majors seeking Middle Childhood-Early Adolescence certification and intending to teach mathematics and science in middle school. For now, Math 135 will be taught in the spring, and Math 136 in the fall only. (The last math content course for this minor, Math 138, is currently still being developed; Math 132 can be taken as its substitute for now. This minor is now supported by a $2,000 scholarship of the Brookhill Foundation!)
Math 130, 131, and 132 are usually taken in sequence; contact me (preferably by email: lempp@math.wisc.edu) to be granted an exemption from this requirement. (C&I 370 has Math 130 and 131 as prerequisite and can be taken concurrently with Math 132.) Once I have granted this exemption, please contact Sheri Pittman (203 Van Vleck Hall, phone 263-6374, pittman@math.wisc.edu) to help you register, since the registrar's computer system needs to be overridden manually.
The three courses Math 130-131-132 have a prerequisite of Math 101 (which is, however, generally offered by UW-Madison only in the spring semester), an equivalent course elsewhere, or (most commonly) placement into Math 112 (see general placement test information, sample math placement tests, and placement score evaluation). Note, however, that students do not have to take Math 112 to take Math 130-131-132. Also note that Math 141 does not give you the placement into Math 112 required to enroll in Math 130-131-132!
Under certain circumstances, students can be exempt from Math 130 and/or 131 (see here for the precise rules), but not from Math 132. Similarly, some courses from other universities may transfer toward Math 13x credit, see the UW Transfer Information System for the most common courses transferable from other UW campuses; for all other questions about possible course credit transfer for Math 13x courses, contact me (preferably by email: lempp@math.wisc.edu).
Note that Math 130 also meets the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement Part A of the UW-Madison School of Education, and that Math 131 and 132 together, or Math 131 and 135 together, meet the Quantitative Reasoning Requirement Part B of the UW-Madison School of Education. (Education students not in elementary or special education are advised, however, to meet the Quantitative Reasoning requirements via other courses (see the lists of courses for QR-A and QR-B).)
Special interest in how teachers are prepared, and some familiarity with current developments in how mathematics is taught in schools, are essential for a TA in these courses.
Normally, a TA teaching these courses would be someone with a minor or a special interest in mathematics education since it is desirable to have some background in educational psychology and how someone learns mathematics. Since these courses are also taught by faculty, appointments to teach them are made by the associate chair of the department in consultation with me. TA's interested in teaching one of these courses should contact me by email.
Two sections of Math 130, 131 and 132 correspond to a 56% appointment level; a single section is a 33% appointment.
"Mathematics presented with rigor is a systematic deductive science
"Heuristic reasoning is good in itself.
Two quotes from George Pólya's "How To Solve It":
but mathematics in the making is an experimental inductive science."
What is bad is to mix up heuristic reasoning with rigorous proof.
What is worse is to sell heuristic reasoning for rigorous proof."
Some Studies and Reports in Mathematics Education
Some Textbooks and Course Materials in Mathematics Education
Home Pages of Some Faculty in Mathematics and
Mathematics Education
Other Math Education Links
Prepared by
Steffen Lempp
(lempp@math.wisc.edu)