Department of Mathematics – SoutheastMissouriStateUniversity – Fall 2010
Retain this policy sheet for your information.
Course: MA118-04, Mathematics I
Prerequisites: Students must have passed MA102 with a grade of ‘CR’, MA 095 with a grade of 'C' or higher, have an ACT Math subscore of 18-20 with MA 095 placement score of 14 or higher, or ACT Math subscore of 21 or higher. Students must have declared an education major in elementary, early childhood, exceptional child, middle school, or secondary mathematics or human environmental studies: child development option major.
Time: MWF 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.Location: Johnson Hall 219
Instructor: Laurie Wern OvermannOffice Location: Johnson Hall 102
Office Hours: MTWRF 11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
During my office hours, look for me either in my office (JH102) or the Mathematics Learning Center (JH104). If I am not in one of those places, check in the Mathematics Department Office, Room 201 Johnson Hall.
Office Phone Number: 651 – 2826 E-mail:
Much can be accomplished by phone or e-mail outside class time hours. Feel free to contact me with questions or concerns. My office phone has message capability. Be sure to leave your name and phone number and I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can. Except on weekends, I check my e-mail regularly and will get back to you as soon as possible after reading the e-mail. I try to respond to all phone messages and e-mails in a timely manner. If I fail to contact you, sometimes it’s because I simply forgot or am waiting to speak to you in class. If you do write or call me, please write and speak in standard English. I don’t respond to “text-speak”.
Website:
This course is “web-assisted.” Information about this section, this syllabus, and other course materials can be found by logging onto the course website from students’ My Courses tab on the University student portal or by clicking on the link from my website . From the site, students can access the course Drop Box, GradeA, Forum, and other web-based utilities during the semester.
Course Description: MA118 is a 3 credit course in the Logical Systems category of the University Studies Program and meets the first mathematics course requirement in any K – 9 teacher education degree program. The course provides an introduction to problem solving strategies, sets, whole numbers and their operations and properties, number theory, numeration systems, computer usage, and the historical significance and applications of these topics in the K – 9 mathematics curriculum.
Course Objectives: The primary objectives of the course are to:
(a) meet the nine University Studies objectives;
(b) identify and use problem solving strategies;
(c) develop the concepts of sets and investigate their logical implications;
(d) examine the whole numbers and their foundational properties;
(e) review the historical aspects of numeration systems including different number bases;
(f) identify and use algorithms and methods of computations with whole numbers;
(g) describe the historical and cultural significance of some of the mathematical principles usually
taught in grades K – 9;
(h) identify aspects of the philosophy and nature of mathematics illustrated in the K – 9
curriculum;
(i) use technology as a learning tool.
Required Materials: The materials you will need for this course are the textbook: Long, C.T., De Temple, D.W., and Millman, R.S. (2009) Mathematical Reasoning for Elementary Teachers(5th ed),Pearson Education, Inc., and a scientific calculator. I urge you to bring your book and scientific calculator every day as both will be used often in class. Cell phones may not be used as calculators on tests.Some classroom materials will be distributed in class which will need to be brought as needed. You can obtain many documents distributed in class at my website.
Course Outline: We will cover 1.1 – 1.6, 2.1 – 2.4, 3.1 – 3.5, 4.1 – 4.3, 8.1, 11.1 – 11.3. In order to cover the material mandated by the mathematics department faculty, I will not always be able to answer section assignment questions during class time. I am, however, available to answer individual or group questions before or after class and during office hours.
Basis of Student Evaluation: The total possible points you can earn will be distributed roughly as follows:
Homework and Quizzesapproximately 20% of total
Classroom Participationapproximately 15% of total
4 Exams and Comprehensive Final Examapproximately 65% of total
Your grade will be determined according to the percentage of the total possible points you earn:
Percentage of total points earnedGrade
90 – 100 A
80 – 89.9 B
70 – 79.9 C
60 – 69.9 D
Below 60 F
Important Dates: Friday, October 29, 2010is the last day to drop a full semester class. Our final exam will be held from 10:00 to 11:50 a.m.,Monday, December 13, 2010 in our regularly scheduled classroom.
Topics / ClassHours
A. MATHEMATICAL REASONING: Problem solving strategies (including guess and check, pattern searches, models, related problems, formulas, algorithms, simulations, simpler cases, subgoals, indirect reasoning, and working backward) and applications of strategies in traditional and nontraditional problems. Inductive and representational reasoning, sequences, algebraic thinking, solving equations. (Sections 1.1-1.6) / 4
B. PRE-NUMBER CONCEPTS, NUMERATION, NUMBER SYSTEMS: Properties of joining, separating, and comparing sets; greater and less than concepts; one to one correspondences; set equivalence; set inclusion; cardinal numbers. The use of set concepts in problem solving (Venn diagrams, exhaustive listings, etc.). Historical role of number systems, base ten numeration system, other number bases, place value and its relation to grouping in operations, functions. (Sections 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 8.1) / 10
C. WHOLE NUMBER COMPUTATION: Order and operations, exponents, and rules for exponents. Models for each of the four basic operations, properties of the basic operations, algorithms (historical and modern) for each operation, estimation, algorithms in other bases, student error patterns.
(Sections 2.3, 2.4, 3.3-3.5) / 14
D. NUMBER THEORY Divisibility history of number theory, prime and composite numbers, sieve of Eratosthenes, infinitude of primes, divisibility rules for whole numbers, LCM, GCD, the Euclidean algorithm, prime factorization, Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic. (Sections 4.1-4.3) / 6
E. GEOMETRIC SHAPES Polygons and their properties, symmetry, lines and planes, angles and their measures, and three-dimensional shapes. (Sections 11.1-11.3) / 7
F. REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT / 4
Expectations and Policies:
Students are expected to attend class, participate in classroom activities, read assigned material, and adequately master course content on examinations. Students are expected to bring their book, calculator, and other classroom materials to each class meeting as I do my best to key the lectures to the book. Feel free to interrupt me to ask questions or for clarifications in class.
University faculty members generally agree that for every hour a student spends in the classroom, anywhere from one to three hours are required outside the classroom for study, assignments, and review. Successful students plan for the time commitment. Homework and in-class activities are an indispensable part of learning mathematics and will therefore be collected and graded regularly. Late assignments will be accepted up to one class period late, but will be penalized one letter grade. I reserved the right to change this policy throughout the semester.
Classroom quizzes will be given at the end of the class period to provide extra time to those who need it and to minimize disruption to the class. Notice of at least one week will be given prior to an exam. Calculators may not be shared during quizzes and exams. Cell phones will be turned off and put away during exams.
In any University course, a student is evaluated on his or her writing ability; writing and speaking skills are of particular importance to any classroom teacher. So, on any written portion of an assignment or exam, use complete, grammatically correct, well-written sentences, making certain to punctuate sentences and spell words correctly.
Attendance: Much of the value of this class is in participating in the activities and discussions. Students will be expected to attend class, to participate in classroom activities, to do assigned homework and to pass tests when administered. Students who know in advance that they will be absent should arrange to get assignments and schedule any necessary make-ups. Some activities and associated points cannot be made up. It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements for class assignments and exams.The official statement about attendance may be accessed at
Academic Honesty: Students are expected to be familiar with the University’s policy regarding plagiarism and cheating. The official statement about academic honesty, may be accessed at additional information can be accessed at
Students are encouraged to work together to study and work on activities for this course, but it is expected that each student turn in work that represents his/her own efforts. Specifically, do not turn in work copied from another student’s paper or work done by a tutor or other person, written assignments copied from another student, website, or a resource book. Do not use unauthorized references during an exam or copy work from another student’s paper during an exam. The minimum penalty for plagiarism or cheating is an automatic score of zero for each student involved. A violation of the academic honesty policy may result in dismissal from the University.
Class Civility:A major determinant of a successful educational experience is a shared sense of respect among and between students and their instructor. In our classroom of mutual respect will be maintained at all times. To minimize disruption to your fellow classmates, please remember not to leave the classroom until class is dismissed, not to carry on personal conversations unrelated to the topic at hand, and turn off cell phones. If you have a situation that might require having the cell phone on during class, please set the phone to vibrate and be prepared to answer the phone OUTSIDE the classroom. Abuse of this policy could result in loss of participation points for the class. The office of judicial affairs is responsible for addressing these matters; information is available at
Classroom Diversity: Diversity in all its forms is valued on this campus. Students with special needs should inform their instructors and know that there are policies that apply and services available to them. Students may obtain information about student services from the Learning Assistant and Disability Support Services office, UC 302, 651-2763 and online at