Session Information
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Proceeding
Abstract of proposed session
Math 2008 is an Area F course for early childhood majors in the University System of Georgia. The course covers basic skills that pre-service teachers will most likely be teaching in their career. At Georgia Southern University, many students in the course do not possess or have forgotten these basic skills. In Fall 2009, a basic skills test was implemented for Math 2008. Students must earn a score of 90 or higher on the test in order to pass the course. The test not only serves to let students know their areas of weakness, but also informs the instructor’s teaching. After the instructors implemented the skills test in this course, they found that most students started to take the material seriously, understand their weaknesses, and make an effort to learn. Also, the instructors are more aware of major gaps in the students’ understanding of number sense and can focus instruction on those areas. The informal results of three instructors' experiences are described in this article.
Keywords
Early childhood majors, University System of Georgia, Pre-service teachers
Recommended Citation
Lanier, Susie M.; Taylor, Sharon; and Saye, Donna B., "Paper 4: Basic Skills Testing in Math 2008" (2010). Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (GAMTE) Annual Conference. 5.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gamte/2010/proceedings/5
Included in
Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
Paper 4: Basic Skills Testing in Math 2008
Math 2008 is an Area F course for early childhood majors in the University System of Georgia. The course covers basic skills that pre-service teachers will most likely be teaching in their career. At Georgia Southern University, many students in the course do not possess or have forgotten these basic skills. In Fall 2009, a basic skills test was implemented for Math 2008. Students must earn a score of 90 or higher on the test in order to pass the course. The test not only serves to let students know their areas of weakness, but also informs the instructor’s teaching. After the instructors implemented the skills test in this course, they found that most students started to take the material seriously, understand their weaknesses, and make an effort to learn. Also, the instructors are more aware of major gaps in the students’ understanding of number sense and can focus instruction on those areas. The informal results of three instructors' experiences are described in this article.
