OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

DARDEN COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 23509
MAPD 603
Rational Numbers and Proportional Reasoning for PK-8 Mathematics
Specialists
Summer, 2019

Instructor: Sueanne E. McKinney, Ph.D.

Phone: Office: 683-4917
Home: 673-3452
Cell: 818-3208
Email: SMcKinne@odu.edu
Class
Hours: Monday, 5:00-7:40
Office
Hours: Available by Appointment

Course Number & Title: MAPD 603, Rational Numbers and Proportional Reasoning
for PK-8 Mathematics Specialists

Catalog Description: This course will meet the requirements of students in the Master of
Science in Education: PK-8 Mathematics Specialist Endorsement Program, and cannot be
used for credit toward any degree offered by the Department of Mathematics and
Statistics. The course introduces students to a number of topics in PK-8 mathematics and
related pedagogical methods. It is designed to engage participants in constructing
relational understanding between theoretical development of mathematics and students'
learning of mathematics in the content strands of rational numbers and proportional
reasoning. Students will learn how to select and use manipulatives to connect the
concrete phase of mathematical learning to the abstract, symbolic phase. Various
technologies will be integrated throughout the course as tools to enhance teaching and
student understanding.

Course Description & Context: Lecture, 3 Credit Hours.

Course Overview: The course is designed to deepen participants’ knowledge and

understanding of rational numbers and proportional reasoning and prepare potential
mathematics specialists to increase mathematics capacity for PK-8 mathematics
teachers and students. We will address the Mathematics Virginia Standards of
Learning and focus on both mathematics content and processes. We will explore the
how, what, and why of mathematics in relation to rational numbers and proportional
reasoning. The why of mathematics is equally valued in this course as we endeavor to
learn how student understanding of rational numbers and proportional reasoning
develops. This approach will create opportunities for aspiring math specialists’ and
future mathematics leaders to deepen and expand their own mathematics
understanding as they prepare to support all mathematics learners and build
mathematics teaching capacity in schools. The mathematics content in this course will
include both conceptual and procedural knowledge and opportunities for making sense
of foundational mathematics in ways that form foundations for proportional reasoning.

Additionally, we will reflect on and consider learning and teaching in the context of
developing mathematical understanding for both teachers and students in PK-8
classrooms. Participants in this course will develop these skills, knowledge, and
dispositions by engaging in solving problems involving rational numbers and
proportional reasoning using a variety of strategies and techniques;
generating understanding thorough explanation, justification, and proof; using
mathematical processes, practices, and tools for engaging in mathematics designed for
developing deeper mathematical understanding for all learners; investigating the ways
students learn and develop rational numbers and proportional reasoning through
reading/watching and reflecting on actual students via case study or student work; and
developing practice-based perspectives through field experiences.

Course Competencies: Following the completion of this MAPD 603 course, students
should be able to:
1. Define rational numbers.
2. Describe how extending from whole numbers to rational numbers creates a more
powerful and complicated number system.
3. Identify and apply the multiple interpretations of rational numbers.
4. Represent any rational number in multiple equivalent symbolic forms.
5. Compute with rational numbers while gaining an understanding of some new
ideas and processes.
6. Relate rational numbers to whole numbers.
7. Demonstrate and apply multiple interpretations and representations of rational
numbers and units.
8. Use composition and decomposition to probe more deeply into the why’s of
rational numbers.
9. Describe the major contexts in which rational numbers are used: quotient,
measure, operator, and ratio.
10. Demonstrate a core knowledge base of concepts and procedures within the
discipline of mathematics, specifically related to rational numbers and
proportional reasoning.
11. Implement instructional practices to help students understand, represent, develop,
and engage in rational number operations with meaning, proficiency, and
precision.
12. Investigate ways to foster deep conceptual understandings of ratios, rates, and
proportional relationships, thus building in students the critical skill of
proportional reasoning.
 13. Use a multitude of representations, such as manipulatives and models, to capture
and communicate different mathematical concepts and relationships.
14. Develop questioning strategies that encourages students to learn, analyze, to
criticize, and to be able to solve unfamiliar problems.
15. Explore and evaluate literature selections that launch, promote, and develop
conceptual understanding of fractions, decimals, ratios, and proportions.
16. Demonstrate how the NCTM’s Process Standards (Problem Solving, Reasoning
and Proof, Communication, Connections, and Representation) are inextricable
linked to the focused content.
17. Implement multidimensional and systematic pedagogical approaches and
strategies that benefits and engages the dissimilar learner.
18. Identify error patterns related to rational numbers and develop a diagnosis,
prescription, and remediation intervention plan.
19. Demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge, skills, and processes of the Virginia
Mathematics Standards of Learning and how to leverage curricular resources to develop
mathematical understanding for diverse learners
20. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of mathematics and the mathematical
structures inherent in the content.
21. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of tools for learning and teaching mathematics,
such as graphing utilities, projection devices, and manipulatives

REQUIRED PROJECT ACTIVITIES

FIELD EXPERIENCE:

Error Patterns: Diagnosis, Prescription, and Remediation Project (20 Points)

This project focuses on a three-step systematic approach to improving dissimilar learners’
mathematics achievement as it relates to rational numbers and proportional reasoning.
These three steps include:
1. Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the identified learner
2. Completing a data analysis sheet (DAS)
3. Designing a mathematics improvement plan (MIP) that is based on the collected
data.
Step 1: Assessing Strengths and Areas of Concern
 Context
 Content
 Process
 Behavior
 Reinforcement
Step 2: Complete the DAS
Step 3: Designing the MIP
Each step and component of this Error Patterns: Diagnosis, Prescription, and
Remediation Project will be thoroughly discussed and reviewed. A direction
sheet/template, and grading rubric are available to guide the implementation and
completion of this project.

PROBLEM SOLVING:
 Interactive Rational Number and Proportional Reasoning Notebook (20 Points)
For this project activity, you will create an interactive notebook that will focus on the
content under study this semester. It will consist of any resources provided in class, the
weekly problems assigned where you will demonstrate your solution and thinking, and
demonstrations, activities, and self-reflections. This interactive notebook will allow you
to organize and synthesize your thoughts, and will serve as a valuable resource as you
transition into the role of a Mathematics Specialist.

STUDENT IMPACT PROJECT:

Impact on Student Learning Project: Rational Numbers and Proportional

Reasoning (20 Points)
This assignment provides you the opportunity to co-teach, coach and model an effective
process to determine the effect of instruction on all students’ learning, guide decisions
about instruction and plans to improve upon every student’s performance, communicate
performance results to others, and reflect on your performance as a mathematics coach
and teacher. A direction sheet, template, and grading rubric are available to guide the
implementation and completion of this project.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Developing into a Mathematics Specialist, PK-8 (20 Points)
As a mathematics specialist and coach, you will be presented with a variety of situations
that calls for the professional development of your colleagues. This project activity
requires you to take the role of a mathematics specialist, and develop a professional
development session that focuses on some aspect of rational numbers and proportional
reasoning understandings. A series of 10 cases with varying grade levels and concerns of
teaching rational numbers and proportional reasoning will be provided to you. You are to
select one of the cases, and develop a professional development activity for teachers that
address the concerns presented. A grading rubric is available to guide the implementation
and completion of this project.

FINAL:

Applying Understanding of Rational Numbers and Proportional Reasoning (20

Points)
A final exam that focuses on the application of the mathematical understandings
discussed during this class will be highlighted.

GRADE ASSIGNMENT:

A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- F
100-94 93-90 89-88 87-84 83-80 79-78 77-74 73-70 Below
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REQUIRED TEXTS:

Beckman, Sybilla (2010). Mathematics for Elementary Teachers with Activity Manual
(5th Edition). Addison Wesley. ISBN: 03216542771
Lamon, Susan J. (2011). Teaching Fractions and Ratios for Understanding (3rd
Edition). Routledge. ISBN: 0415886123

Attendance Policy: “Because the class period is important and discussions cannot be
reproduced, absences cannot be made up. Excessive absences can have a negative effect
on the student's learning and performance. A student who must miss a class is expected
to have the initiative necessary to cover properly the materials missed. The student must
meet all course deadlines and be present for all quizzes, tests, and examinations.” (ODU
Catalog) As noted above, late assignments will receive only partial credit while quizzes
and in-class work can not be made up without a medical excuse from a doctor or clinic.

Students with Special Needs: In compliance with PL94-142 and more recent federal
legislation affirming the rights of individuals with disabilities, provisions will be made
for students with documented sensory and/or learning disabilities on an individual basis.
The student must have been identified as “special needs” by the university and an
appropriate letter(s) must be provided to the course instructor at the beginning of the
semester. Provision will be made based upon written guidelines from the university
“special needs students” resource office. All students are expected to fulfill all course
requirements.

Honor Pledge: “I pledge to support the honor system of Old Dominion University. I will
refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or
plagiarism. I am aware that as a member if the academic community, it is my
responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the honor system. I will report to Honor
Council hearings if summoned.” By attending Old Dominion University you have
accepted the responsibility to abide by this code. This is an institutional policy approved
by the Board of Visitors.

Cultural Diversity: The Darden College of Education at Old Dominion University is

committed to social justice and respect for all individuals, and it seeks to create a culture
of inclusion that actively supports all who live, work, and serve in a diverse nation and
world. Attaining justice and respect involves all members of our community in
recognizing that multi-dimensional diversity contributes to the College’s learning
environments, thereby enriching the community and improving opportunities for human
understanding. An essential feature of our community is an environment that supports
exploration, learning, and work free from bias and harassment, thereby improving the
growth and development of each member of the community.

Use of Instructional Technology: Instructional technologies will be utilized in class as a

means of supporting student learning and professional growth. These technologies
include the use of Blackboard, the Smart Board installed in the classroom, the Internet,

1
This text will be used for multiple MAPD 60X courses
and other tools and materials as available.

University Email Policy: The Old Dominion University e-mail system is the official
electronic mail system for distributing course-related communications, policies,
announcements, and other information for this class and the university in general. In
addition, the University e-mail user ID and password are necessary for authentication and
access to numerous electronic resources (on-line courses, faculty web pages, etc.). For
more information, please visit: http://web.odu.edu/af/occs/stu_email.html.

Code of Student Conduct: University students shall conduct themselves in compliance

with Old Dominion University’s educational mission and may be disciplined for
misconduct that adversely affects that mission. Students are required to assume
responsibility for their own classroom behavior and are expected to participate fully and
positively in the teaching/learning process. Students do not have the right to engage in
behavior that is disruptive or otherwise interferes with the learning of others (e.g., talking
during lectures, using a cell phone, bringing children to class). Students are expected to
conform to rules of classroom decorum and to inform the instructor and/or Site Director
when any disruption in learning occurs. Faculty will follow the guidelines established by
the University when confronted with disruptive students. A student who violates the
Code of Student Conduct will be subject to administrative action(s) or disciplinary
sanction(s).

Conceptual Framework: The Darden College of Education, the College of Arts and
Letters, and the College of Sciences as a whole accept the responsibility of preparing
professionals for the schools. These professionals are characterized both by their
responsibility for making decisions in the context of the world of practice and by their
increasing ability to make wise and informed decisions based on sound knowledge,
guided by experience and scientifically-based research; thus, the theme of the conceptual
framework of all professional education programs at Old Dominion University is the
Educator as Professional.

COURSE OUTLINE:

May 20
Welcome and Greetings; Review Syllabus and Course Requirements. Review assignment
templates, rubrics, and expectations.

May 27
Holiday
No Class

June 3
What are Rational Numbers?; The Big Ideas and Essential Understandings of Rational
Numbers; Making Sense of Rational Numbers.

June 10
Meanings of Fractions; Models for Fractions; Fraction Language; Fraction Ordering and
Equivalence.

June 17
Understanding Operations with Fractions; Addition and Subtraction of Fractions.

June 24
Understanding Operations with Fractions; Multiplication and Division of Fractions.
Due: Impact on Student Learning Project: Rational Numbers and Proportional
Reasoning

July 1
Ratio and Proportions; Comparisons.
Due: Error Patterns: Diagnosis, Prescription, and Remediation Project

July 8
Ratio and Proportions; Comparisons.

July 15
Percents; Connections Between Percent and Other Mathematical Topics.
Due: Interactive Rational Number and Proportional Reasoning Notebook

July 22
Due: Professional Development Presentations

July 29
Due: Professional Development Presentations

August 5
Due: Final Exam