Unit 3: Algebra
Topic 10: Function Concept
NOTE THERE WILL BE NO ON-LINE CLASS NEXT WEEK DUE TO FACETO-FACE MEETING IN FLATWOODS. THE CENTRA SESSION WILL NOT
BE POSTED UNTIL MARCH 21 WITH THE LIVE SESSION ON MARCH 24.
In alternating weeks we will pause in our discussion of mathematical concepts to discuss
the teaching of those concepts. We will provide mathematics education readings or
activities related to the mathematics concepts discussed the previous week. Many of
these readings will be provided in electronic form, where you simply click and download
the article. The activities will fall into the following categories.
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Teaching Strategies:
o Activities or articles that provide methods of teaching mathematical
concepts or skills
o Actual curriculum modules, units, or lessons that can be used in the
classroom
o Web sites that provide interactive applets, lesson plans, or history (demos
of these sites will be provided using short Centra sessions that you can
view anytime between Monday after 5:00 and Thursday)
Research in Mathematics Learning
o Action research reflecting the study of classroom practice
o Theory related to practice which provides insight into student difficulties
in learning mathematical concepts and skills, and provides methods for
overcoming those difficulties
A group discussion bulletin board will be provided on Vista WebCT so you can share
your views on the readings. The assignments will be posted Friday. You are to comment
on the focus questions for the readings by Thursday night at 8:00. You are to read your
classmates comments and post at least one reflection on a classmate’s comment. These
are open discussions on teaching and I will not subject them to right or wrong grading,
however, you must participate in the discussion to receive credit for the assignment. On
Thursday night we will hold a virtual office hour on Centra to discuss the assignment and
questions on the Centra session posted on Monday.
1.1 Article Reflection: Read and reflect on the following articles posted on Vista
WebCT
 Connected Mathematics – Frogs, Fleas, and Painted Cubes – Quadratic
Relationships. Investigation 5: Painted Cubes. Focus on higher order
polynomial functions modeling data.
o FOCUS: What would be the pros and cons of using this lesson in your
classroom?
o FOCUS: Discuss what you know about Finite Differences, this is the
method used in Problem 25, page 83 to determine that the model
should be cubic.
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Fostering Connections between Classes of Polynomial Functions by Judy
Buck, PME Paper. Teaching algebra for understanding versus algorithm
mastery.
o FOCUS: The article explores teaching higher order polynomial
functions (quadratic, cubic, etc.). What do you do in your classroom
to have students explore patterns in classes of polynomial functions?
What does the research article recommend doing to teach this concept?
o FOCUS: The Rational Root Theorem is mentioned in this article.
What is the Rational Root Theorem? How can graphical approaches
and technology be used to explore higher order polynomials without
burdening students with abstract concepts like the Rational Root
Theorem?
1.2 Centra Teacher Resource Session: A Centra session will be posted by Monday of
each week which provides a brief discussion of the assigned readings and a
demonstration of websites related to teaching the topic of the week. View this
session before the Thursday Virtual Office Hour. We will discuss questions on both
the readings and Centra session on Thursdays.