Special Colloquium
Sharon Kay Strickland
Michigan State University
The Implicit Curriculum of Mathematics Pedagogy
Abstract: When universities prepare future secondary mathematics teachers there are typically two sites of preparation: pedagogy housed in departments of education (teacher education, curriculum & instruction, etc.), and content housed in mathematics departments. Although methods courses, which are very often found in education-related departments, are seen as pedagogical, there is often a lot of mathematics present in the context of the conversations, examples, case studies and so on. Similarly, courses in mathematics departments are infused with pedagogy. That is, while students are taking "pure" mathematics courses such as Linear Algebra, Real Analysis, and Modern Geometry, they are surely learning important content but they are also learning about pedagogy, although this may be implicit and not necessarily the instructor's primary goal. In educational studies, we often call this the "implicit" curriculum. This talk investigates implicit and explicit messages in six upper-level undergraduate mathematics courses specifically related to:
What it means to act as a teacher,
What it means to act as a student, and
What it means to do mathematics
For each question, I will offer three vignettes and analyze each according to what lesson(s) it has for future teachers.
There will be a meet and greet right after the talk in SEO 300. Coffee, tea, & cookies will be provided.
Tuesday January 29, 2008 at 1:00 PM in SEO 636