Session Information
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Proceeding
Abstract of proposed session
In the fall of 2005, I started teaching the mathematics content course Algebra and Geometry for Teachers. The majority of students in the course are pre-service middle school teachers. Instead of teaching the course by demonstrating rigorous proofs, I wanted to use teaching strategies that would build the students’ content knowledge and connect to their roles as future mathematics teachers. I chose to make problem solving a focal process standard by having students problem- solve for a majority of classroom time. In addition, the students complete a major project entitled “Provide, Attempt, and Assess Problem Solving” or PAAPS. For PAAPS, each student provides a non-routine algebra, geometry, or analytic geometry problem to five of their classmates. Each student then attempts the five problems received, and returns the attempted problems to be assessed by the student who provided them. In this article, I share the results of using PAAPS as evidenced by student surveys and student work (problems chosen, problems worked, and problems assessed). Included in the surveys are the mathematical and pedagogical ideas that the students reportedly learned.
Copyright
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Keywords
Mathematics content course, Algebra for teachers, Geometry for teachers, Pre-service middle school teachers, PAAPS strategy
Recommended Citation
Harrell, Gregory K., "Paper 4: The PAAPS Strategy for Teaching Mathematics Content" (2008). Georgia Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (GAMTE) Annual Conference (2007-2019). 5.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gamte/2008/proceedings/5
Included in
Science and Mathematics Education Commons, Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons
Paper 4: The PAAPS Strategy for Teaching Mathematics Content
In the fall of 2005, I started teaching the mathematics content course Algebra and Geometry for Teachers. The majority of students in the course are pre-service middle school teachers. Instead of teaching the course by demonstrating rigorous proofs, I wanted to use teaching strategies that would build the students’ content knowledge and connect to their roles as future mathematics teachers. I chose to make problem solving a focal process standard by having students problem- solve for a majority of classroom time. In addition, the students complete a major project entitled “Provide, Attempt, and Assess Problem Solving” or PAAPS. For PAAPS, each student provides a non-routine algebra, geometry, or analytic geometry problem to five of their classmates. Each student then attempts the five problems received, and returns the attempted problems to be assessed by the student who provided them. In this article, I share the results of using PAAPS as evidenced by student surveys and student work (problems chosen, problems worked, and problems assessed). Included in the surveys are the mathematical and pedagogical ideas that the students reportedly learned.
