Required Text: O'Daffer et.al., Mathematics for Elementary School Teachers, 3rd. Ed., Addison Wesley, 2005
Introduction: Since the Seventies, the requirements for becoming an elementary teacher have undergone drastic changes. Originally, State initiatives have forced Schools of Education throughout the Commonwealth to eliminate the major in elementary education. The result was the elimination or drastic reduction of mathematics requirements for perspective elementary teachers. If the students major included a course in mathematics it was usually contained a large amount of material uncorrelated to school mathematics. The result was a decline in the mathematics test scores of our children. In recent years this misstep has been recognized and the state is once again requiring a fair amount of mathematics for prospective elementary teachers as well as a relatively high cutoff score on the Praxis I test. The Mathematics Department of Norfolk State University is as concerned about these events as the School of Education.
In general, the Mathematics Department would like to employ the guidelines set forth in Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in the education of prospective elementary teachers. This includes the use of manipulatives and technology when appropriate.
Using Manipulatives in the Mathematics Classroom: Manipulatives should be an essential element in the mathematics classroom. Forming concepts based on meaningful experiences is the foundation of learning mathematics. Learning is developmental, characterized by separate stages. Learning begins with concrete experiences and proceeds to abstract ideas. Sensory learning is a key element in these concrete experiences. The learner must be an active participant in the learning process. Through the use of manipulatives, the learner engages in meaningful problem-solving situations, enabling him/her to analyze data, discover relationships, and form generalizations.