Math education - Ph.D.
Mathematics education is in transition.
The nature of mathematics content for school children and the
pedagogy for teaching mathematics are changing in exciting ways.
National standards for school mathematics recommend that content
for students pre-K to 12 cover topics in five areas: number and
numeration, data and probability, algebra, geometry, and
measurement. Mathematics content is taught using a pedagogy that
emphasizes problem solving, communication, connections,
reasoning, and representation. New curricula are available to
support teachers as they implement this new content and
methodology.
The faculty's professional initiatives
have focused on helping schools during this period of transition
from teaching mathematics that emphasized algorithms to teaching
a wider range of mathematics topics. They have also found ways
to help teachers change their pedagogy style from a “teaching by
telling” pedagogy to one which emphasizes conceptual
understanding and problem solving.
Graduate students participate in this work as teaching
assistants, research assistants in externally funded projects,
and as instructors. Faculty encourage and support doctoral
students in working in these and other areas of scholarly
inquiry.
Other faculty initiatives include research related to the
teaching and learning of specific mathematical topics. The
Rational Number
Project is the longest funded cooperative
research project which studies children's
learning of fractions and proportionality, as well as
how to help teachers implement new curriculums. Graduate
students have play an important role in all aspects of this
project.
The mathematics education faculty
supports the following programs:
-
postbaccalaureate initial
licensure programs for elementary, middle school, and secondary
teachers,
-
M.A. and M.Ed. programs with specializations at
each of the three levels mentioned above,
-
a two-year M.A.
program in mathematics conducted in conjunction with the
mathematics department, and
-
a Ph.D. program in curriculum
and instruction with a major emphasis in mathematics education.
The mathematics education faculty
supports Ph.D. programs with specializations in elementary,
middle and secondary mathematics education. A guiding philosophy
encourages all students to develop a solid background in
mathematics content to augment their study in pedagogy and
policy. In addition, coursework in educational psychology is
normally a part of each of our programs...
- Lesa Covington Clarkson
My research agenda focuses on mathematics in the urban
classroom, specifically identifying successful strategies that
increase student achievement and reducing the achievement gaps.
- Kathleen Cramer
I am co-principal investigator for the
Rational Number
Project,
a cooperative research program to investigate teaching and
learning of fractions and proportionality among elementary and
middle school students.
- Tamara Moore
I research problem solving, mathematical modeling, and teamwork.
I look at ways to teach mathematics at the secondary and
post-secondary level through realistic engineering contexts
using authentic assessment tasks called Model-Eliciting
Activities.
- Thomas Post
I am currently principal investigator (PI) on a National Science
Foundation (NSF) project to assess the impact of
standards-based middle grades and secondary high school
curricula on standardized assessment instruments, and, on
college level mathematics achievement and course taking
patterns.
- Terry Wyberg
I teach method courses for pre-service teachers, teacher
enhancement courses for in-service teacher, and conduct teacher
training workshops for the NSF funded Minneapolis and St. Paul
Areas Merging to Achieve Standards Project.
Course requirements
Required coursework for the Ph.D. in education, curriculum and instruction.
Track: mathematics educationMajor requirements: A minimum of 24
credits as specified below.
- Curriculum and instruction core
courses
- CI 8131—Critical Examination of Curriculum in
Context (3 cr)
- CI 8132—Teaching Theory and Research (3 cr)
- CI 8133—Research Methods in Curriculum and
Instruction (3 cr)
- Track-specific requirements
- Consult adviser to determine requirements.
Research methodology: minimum of 12
credits as specified below.
- Required courses in quantitative
methodology (minimum of 6 credits)
- EPSY 8261—Statistical Methods I (3 cr)
- EPSY 8262—Statistical Methods II (3 cr)
- Required courses in qualitative
methodology (minimum of 6 credits)
Educational foundations: minimum of
6 credits.
- In consultation with adviser(s), students choose courses
in at least two of five areas: cultural, historical,
philosophical, psychological, or sociological foundations.
- List of educational foundations courses
Minor or supporting program:
minimum of 12 credits.
- All coursework in the supporting program is to be
selected with consultation by the adviser(s).
Pre-thesis and thesis credits: A
minimum of 24 semester thesis credits.
Total: A minimum of 78 semester credits. See also: Ph.D. student
resources.
Sample dissertations
Ahrendt, S.F. (2004). Implementing the
investigations curriculum: The relationship between elementary
mathematics teacher beliefs and instructional practices.
Unpublished doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota,
Minneapolis, MN.
Capistran, R.W. (2005). Concepts of the
chain rule for first term calculus: A comparison across
students, instructors, and professors. Unpublished doctoral
thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
Davis, J.D. (2004). Supplementation,
justification, and student understanding: A tale of two
contemporary mathematics in context classrooms. Unpublished
doctoral thesis. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
May 2006
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