Master of Science in Mathematics Learning & Teaching
About the Program
The MS in Mathematics Learning & Teaching is designed for current middle and high school mathematics teachers. The program is designed to support teachers as they help students reason through the variety of complex mathematical situations that they encounter in their school mathematics curriculum. The program includes courses with explicit focus on the use of technology in teaching, unpacking and re-conceptualizing the mathematics of middle and high school curriculum, and implementing student centered and problem based instructional practices.
The MS in Mathematics Learning & Teaching is designed for current middle and high school mathematics teachers as well as mathematically inclined elementary teachers. The Mathematics Learning and Teaching program is designed to support teachers in teaching mathematics where students learn with understanding, including supporting students in reasoning through the variety of complex mathematical situations that they encounter in the school mathematics curriculum. In particular, the program of study involves courses that model best practices in mathematics education, including collaborative problem solving, reflection on practice, and student-centered instruction.
The mathematics education core courses are divided into two sets of courses: introductory (500-level) and advanced (600-level) courses. The introductory courses emphasize content-based and informed pedagogy, representation and communication, connections between multiple representations and multiple solution methods. The advanced courses emphasize common student conceptions, misconceptions and difficulties, diagnosing student thinking, addressing particular students' needs effectively, scaling "individualized instruction," and collaborative instructional design and analysis.
Currently, all courses in this program are offered in an online format.
For additional information about this program, contact the School of Education.
Admission Requirements
Each candidate will submit the following application materials:
- Completed application form
- Appropriate application fee
- Transcripts (must be provided for every institution attended)
- Personal essay, providing commitment to program’s unique features
- Professional resume
Admission to the MS in Mathematics Learning & Teaching program will follow the University standards for admission to graduate study including the receipt of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with an earned GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
The Mathematics Learning and Teaching (MLT) Program is built around the importance of the integration of research and practice and the importance of connecting school teaching practices with university coursework. As a result, there will be a fieldwork component for some courses. These courses require university students to interact with school-aged students, document their activity (ideally with video-recordings), and bring the results of their work back to the university class for collective analysis and reflection. MS and certificate students who are not current classroom teachers will need to obtain the appropriate Child Abuse and Criminal Record clearances for their state to work with school-aged students in schools during the school day. Such program candidates are also advised to talk with area school sin advance of entering one of the MLT programs to obtain the process for arranging the fieldwork components of the MLT courses.
Additional requirements for the MS in Mathematics Learning and Teaching include:
- Completion of at least two semesters (or three quarters) of university calculus and at least one university mathematics course beyond university calculus. This additional course must be offered by the mathematics department and cannot include courses on the fundamentals of mathematics, college algebra, or mathematics for elementary school teachers. Exceptions to this requirement will be considered on an individual basis by the program director or the program admissions committee.
- All students must provide evidence of a current teaching position or must secure a site for field placement and complete the Child Abuse and Criminal Record Clearance by the end of the winter term in the first year in the program.
For additional information, contact the School of Education. Additional information about how to apply is available on the Graduate Admissions at Drexel University website.
Degree Requirements
45.0 quarter credits
The MS in Mathematics Learning and Teaching program involves the completion of 45.0credit hours of courses and will position teachers to implement high-quality, student centered instruction. The required courses in this program fall into three categories:
- the education core (10 credits) provides students with a breadth of expertise in student-centered, technology-intensive instruction
- the mathematics education core (30 credits) involves student-centered pedagogy courses and a full year of lesson study, implementation, and analysis (in the spirit of action research). The mathematics education core concludes with a capstone research course that provides participants with an introduction to research in mathematics education, including reading and discussing seminal articles and reviewing the literature on a given topic with an emphasis on topics with personal relevance to each individual teacher.
- elective courses (5-6 credits) allow participants to tailor their degree experience to their interests and career paths.
| Education Core Courses | ||
| EDUC 522 | Evaluation of Instruction | 3.0 |
| EDUC 524 | Current Research in Curriculum & Instruction | 3.0 |
| EDUC 525 | Multi-Media Instructional Design | 3.0 |
| Mathematics Education Core Courses | ||
| MTED 501 | Proportional and Algebraic Reasoning | 3.0 |
| MTED 502 | Geometry & Spatial Reasoning | 3.0 |
| MTED 503 | Data Analysis and Probabalistic & Statistical Reasoning | 3.0 |
| MTED 511 | Functions through the Curriculum | 3.0 |
| MTED 601 | Diagnosing Student Mathematical Thinking | 3.0 |
| MTED 611 | Virtual Field Experience I - Online Mentoring | 1.5 |
| MTED 612 | Virtual Field Experience II - Online Mentoring | 1.5 |
| MTED 621 | Collaborative Instructional Design & Analysis I | 3.0 |
| MTED 622 | Collaborative Instructional Design & Analysis II | 3.0 |
| MTED 690 | Current Research in Mathematics Learning & Teaching | 3.0 |
| One additional 600- or 700-level MTED Course | 3.0 | |
| Electives * | 6.0 | |
| Total Credits | 45.0 | |
| * | After consultation with an advisor, participants may choose electives from other graduate offerings in the School of Education (including educational technology, higher education, and global and international relations), special topics courses in mathematics education, or appropriate content courses offered by the Mathematics Department. |
Courses
MTED 500 Learning and Teaching Number and Operation 3.0 Credits
Course focus is on the key ideas of number and operation and support students in developing a coherent understanding of both our number system and the structural similarities between it and the computation, arithmetic, algebra, and problem solving that appear throughout the school mathematics curriculum.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
MTED 501 Proportional and Algebraic Reasoning 3.0 Credits
This course is about learning and teaching algebra, focusing on patterns, functions and graphs, proportionality, and algebraic connections. Participants will collaboratively explore open-ended problems, discussing, evaluating, revising, and analyzing others' solutions. This is the first course in a sequence to prepare teachers for implementing student-centered, content-based and technology-enhanced instruction.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
MTED 502 Geometry & Spatial Reasoning 3.0 Credits
This course is about learning and teaching geometry, focusing on characteristics of shapes, representational systems, geometric modeling, and proof. Participants will collaboratively explore open-ended geometric problems, discussing, evaluating, revising, and analyzing others solutions. This is the second of three introductory courses that prepare teachers to enact student-centered learning and teaching.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
MTED 503 Data Analysis and Probabalistic & Statistical Reasoning 3.0 Credits
This course is about learning and teaching data analysis and probabilistic and statistical reason, focusing on representation of data, measures of center and spread, inferential statistics, proportionality and probability, and introductory statistical analysis. Participants will discuss, evaluate, revise and analyze solutions and methods. This is the third of a 3-course sequence.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
MTED 511 Functions through the Curriculum 3.0 Credits
This course will consist of an extended analysis of the conception of function, including its historical development. Participants will gain personal experience in thinking of function as a unifying idea on mathematics as well as with conceptual instructional materials.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
MTED 601 Diagnosing Student Mathematical Thinking 3.0 Credits
This course is about student-centered learning and teaching of mathematics. This goal is to develop participants' expertise in analyzing student work, understanding student thinking, and using that understanding to guide subsequent interactions and interventions with the student.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
MTED 611 Virtual Field Experience I - Online Mentoring 1.5 Credit
This course utilizes the Math Forum's online learning environment to provide teachers with opportunities to engage with students, diagnose student understandings, and implement appropriate instructional responses. Key to this course is virtual one-on-one interactions and an opportunity to reflect on these interactions. This is the first of a 2-course sequence.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
Prerequisites: MTED 601 [Min Grade: C]
MTED 612 Virtual Field Experience II - Online Mentoring 1.5 Credit
This course utilizes the Math Forum's online learning environment to provide teachers with opportunities to engage with students, diagnose student understandings, and implement appropriate instructional responses. Key to this course is continued virtual interactions and an opportunity to reflect on these4 interactions. This is the second of a 2-course sequence.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
Prerequisites: MTED 611 [Min Grade: C]
MTED 621 Collaborative Instructional Design & Analysis I 3.0 Credits
This course focuses on teachers identifying critical areas from their colleagues' classrooms that are in need of improvement and designing and implementing a substantive, outcome-driven response. The course will involve intensive analysis of curricular goals, intended student outcomes, lesson planning and classroom-based ?action research?.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
Prerequisites: MTED 601 [Min Grade: C]
MTED 622 Collaborative Instructional Design & Analysis II 3.0 Credits
This course is the second of two courses designed to help teachers identify critical areas from their colleagues' classrooms that are in need of improvement and designing and implementing an appropriate response. The course will involve similar tasks and assignments as MDED 621 but will differ in curricular focus.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
Prerequisites: MTED 621 [Min Grade: C]
MTED 651 Problem Solving Strategies 3.0 Credits
Course focus is on supporting the development of mathematical approaches to problems that allow students to productively engage with and reason through a wide variety of mathematical tasks. Students will develop high levels of competence and sophistication with a wide range of mathematical approaches, including guess and check, consider a simpler problem, analyze in terms of parity, case analysis, etc.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
MTED 661 Teach Math Geometer Sketchpad 3.0 Credits
Course explores how the teaching and learning of math in grades 6 through calculus is enhanced by appropriate use of dynamic mathematics software such as Sketchpad. Course activities will include constructing sketches from scratch and using existing activities and highly-authored sketches to cover topics in middle school, algebra, geometry, pre-calculus, and calculus. Sketchpad topics such as animation, action buttons, presentation sketches, custom tools, etc. will also be covered.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT or major is TLC.
MTED 662 Teaching Calculus with Geometer's Sketchpad 3.0 Credits
This course explores teaching the fundamental ideas of calculus, including limits, derivatives, antiderivatives, and integrals through the use of dynamic geometry software. While the course will cover a variety of calculus content, it is not a calculus course. This course is designed to enrich students' understanding of calculus ideas, to corroboratively explore these ideas with colleagues, and to engage in professional conversations about the implications of these experiences and technologies on the teaching of the ideas of calculus at the middle and secondary levels.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT or major is TLC.
MTED 690 Current Research in Mathematics Learning & Teaching 3.0 Credits
This capstone course for the Master of Science program in Mathematics Learning and Teaching will provide students with an introduction to research in mathematics education. Participants will read, analyze, and synthesize seminal research articles in mathematics education and create a proposal for a future classroom-based research project.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit
Restrictions: Can enroll if major is MLAT.
MTED 775 Special Topics in Mathematics Education 3.0 Credits
Covers various topics of particular interest to mathematics teachers and education students.
Repeat Status: Can be repeated 3 times for 9 credits
