Multimedia Project: Bringing Childrens Mathematical Thinking to the Elementary Education Major

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Multimedia ProjectBringing Childrens
Mathematical Thinking to the Elementary Education
Major

• Andrea Lachance
• Assistant Professor
• Education Department
• SUNY Cortland

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Product

• A number sense website featuring
• Power Point Presentation on a given topic related
  to number sense, such as counting.
• Digital video clips of children engaged in
  mathematical tasks related to topics.
• Analysis guides to prompt undergraduates to think
  about what they are seeing

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Rationale

• Preservice teachers need to learn to teach
  mathematics for understanding.
• Example from Fourth Grade Test
• Shelly, Mike, and Jason looked at the stars
  through a telescope every night for a week.
  Shelly saw 6 shooting stars, Mike saw 9, and
  Jason saw 11. They wondered in what order they
  should add up the numbers to get the highest
  total. Does the order matter? On the lines
  below, explain why or why not.

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To learn to teach in this way.

• Preservice teachers need to learn to listen to
  children and to understand their thinking.
• They learn to do this by observing children
  engaged in mathematical tasks.
• Previously used Field experiences, teaching
  mini-lessons, reflective journal, videotapes.
• Lacking in shared and guided observations.

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Inspiration

• Lampert and Ball (1998). Teaching, Multimedia,
  and Mathematics
• Advantage of multimedia
• An electronic learning environment built around
  records of practice could retain a degree of
  immediacy and empathy without the pressure of
  performance (p. 46).

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Tools Used

• Macintosh platform iBook
• Claris Home Page
• iMovie
• Quicktime

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Challenges

• Human Subjects Concerns
• Quicktime Compressors
• Downloading from the web

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Tour

• Homepage
• Overview
• Various Pages
• Even/Odd How can you tell if a number is even
  or odd?

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Life on the cutting edge...

• ...often results in needing stitches.

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College needs to support this type of work

• Investment of time and energy such work takes
  needs to be recognized and rewarded.
• Needs to be written explicitly in guidelines for
  reappointment, tenure, promotion, and DSI.
• Knowledgeable people need to review electronic
  documents.

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Thank you for this opportunity.