Initial Publication Date: July 24, 2018

Felicia Lewis: Using InTeGrate Materials in Mathematics in the Elementary School at Edward Waters College


About this Course

This is an upper level course. Students are enrolled as pre-service elementary education teachers. They must take this course before they take the practicum and internship courses.
8
students
Two -120 minute lecture sessions

Syllabus (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 62kB Jun27 18)

Transformative thinking and learning through Concept Mapping of Complex Systems

Pre-service teachers had a discussion, group-think-share and collective project on how to build concept maps using systems thinking to build integrative STEM lesson plans for elementary school mathematics and science classes. Eight students collaborated in a discussion and group assignment to design a lesson using climate as the science topic to illustrate the mathematical concepts that can be connected to help elementary students learn mathematics as system within science. We examined an article first on the ideas of STEM integration and why mathematics is the least likely to be fully integrated.

Mathematics is system, but often it's taught in elementary schools as disconnected from other real world problems and disconnected from other systems. I wanted teachers to be aware of the real value in teaching and learning mathematics as as part a larger complex system.

My Experience Teaching with InTeGrateMaterials

The module was modified to fit in the scope of teaching and learning of mathematics to pre-service elementary teachers to transform their thinking about mathematics as a subject into thinking about it as a complex system that interacts with other systems.

Relationship of InTeGrate Materials to my Course

The module was implemented three weeks before finals. I wished I had considered the time framework more carefully. The students didn't have enough time to collaborate on all of the different aspects of what this project could introduce. Students had to think about visually mapping out mathematics lessons that are not just skill based but projected based were the skills are illustrated in a way that makes math the central feature, useful and appreciated (valued) as more than just tool for science understanding.

Assessments

Students had to come up with lesson plans that connect more than a few simple rules and skills based problem applications. They had to think deeper about designing problems and projects that put value on learning mathematics to solve the real world problems. I will do this lesson again as part of the full course. Students have to design and implement lesson plans as part of the course, but those lessons are not necessarily integrative. I want to build a platform for integration at the elementary school teaching level.

Outcomes

One of the goals is to introduce the idea of integrative learning not from a technology and engineering standpoint, but the philosophy of why integrative education is important and should be incorporated early and often. Pre-service elementary teachers need exposure to what is possible and how they can build their own knowledge and lessons to help elementary students learning mathematics and science through authentic problem solving.

Reference:
English, L. (2016) Stem education K-12 perspectives on integration. International Journal of Stem Education 3(3) p.3-8. DOI 10.1186/s40594-016-Hatheway,R. & Stanitski, D. (2018) What in the world is happening to our climate? Retrieved from https://www.globe.gov/documents/348830/35487706/EGclimate_Final_27April2017.pdf/64cdfba2-ce9f-4660-a4b5-0644c3f0be74