Integrated Science and Math Education: A Model Course

Dr. Park and Dr. Flores were awarded a four-year TUES Grant (Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) from the NSF (National Science Foundation) in 2012 to develop a mathematics education course. The course, Math 267, is a three-credit course offered primarily to secondary mathematics pre-service teachers. The main focus of the class is for future educators to develop and formalize mathematical ideas through the use of technology, which they will in turn be able to use in their classrooms. Python, Geogebra, motion detectors, and graphing calculators are some of the types of technology that students are able to explore in Math 267. This course serves as an alternative to the computer science courses previously required of secondary mathematics education majors and provides more relevant training for those aiming to teach at the secondary level. So far, the course has been offered twice and has received positive reviews from undergraduate students. Over the past two years, Dr. Flores has presented their work at multiple STEM conferences in the United States and in Spain. The current state of the project is analyzing the student data that has been collected and working on making the course feasible for others to teach it in upcoming semesters.

Document date: February 15, 2016