Mathematics for Elementary Education 1

Course Number: 
MATH&131
Course Credits: 
5.00
Course Description: 
MATH& 131 is the first of two courses that is designed to fulfill the requirements for entry into a bachelors program in elementary education at a four year university. The major objective of this course is to prepare the prospective K-8 teacher to understand elementary school mathematical concepts taught from kindergarten through eighth grade. MATH& 131 focuses on problem solving techniques, place value, numeration and computation, fractions, decimals, percent, ratios and proportional reasoning, and number theory. In conjunction with studying these topics, students will improve their abilities to recognize patterns and make connections to the mathematical ideas explored. Each student will be expected to justify his or her reasoning and communicate the results through such means as group activities, written discussions, oral presentations and/ or other methods. Students who complete both MATH& 131 and MATH& 132 will satisfy the quantitative skills requirement (MATH& 131) and be granted 5 credits of specified elective. Counts as a specified elective. Students who complete both MATH&131 and MATH&132 will satisfy the quantitative skills requirement (MATH&131) and be granted 5 credits of specified elective.
Course Prerequisites: 
Recommended Preparation: ENGL 095 or placement in ENGL& 101. Prerequisites: A grade of "C" or better in MATH 097 or appropriate placement score.
Course Outcomes: 
  • Use quantities and their relationships to other problems to solve problems
  • Determine place value in terms of base ten
  • Change from one base to another base
  • Use base ten blocks to represent, add and subtract numbers.
  • Identify and distinguish between different addition and subtraction methods
  • Identify and distinguish between different multiplication methods.
  • Use pictorial arrays to illustrate the commutative and distributive properties
  • Identify and distinguish between the repeated subtraction, partitive and missing addend conceptual models for division.
  • Identify the unit for a fraction
  • Identify the denominator in a fraction as the way of partitioning a unit
  • Identify the numerator of a fraction as the number of pieces of the unit under consideration
  • Determine when two fractions are equal
  • Change fractions into decimals and percents
  • Change decimals into fractions
  • Change percents into decimals and fractions.
  • Add and subtract fractions given fractions with common denominators.
  • Add and subtract fractions by creating common denominators when they aren’t originally
  • Multiply and simplify fractions.
  • Multiply fractions by drawing areas and by algorithm.
  • Divide fractions by drawing and by algorithm
  • Write a ratio
  • Set up and solve a proportion
  • Write percents as numbers divided by 100
  • Solve simple percent problems
  • Translate percent increases and decreases into “percent of” statements and use them to solve application problems
  • Find factors and multiples of whole numbers.
  • Find prime numbers using the sieve of Eratosthenes
  • Find least common multiples and greatest common factors for whole numbers