MATHEMATICS: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

Subject: Professional Development/Math
Grades: Adult
Length: 8 episodes @ 60 minutes
Distributors: CPB/Annenberg
Record Rights: 1 year
Website: http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/math/

K-8 teachers of mathematics will contemplate intriguing questions about math and student understanding during this eight-part workshop series. Each workshop offers motivation and tools to teachers who want to explore new ways of teaching. In addition, viewers will hear from educational experts and classroom teachers around the country.

1 Patterns and Functions: What Comes Next? Mathematics is about patterns waiting to be found. This workshop demonstrates how students' explorations of patterns can grow richer and more complex as they move through the grades.

2 Data: Posing Questions and Finding Answers. From the earliest grades, students learn to connect situations, data, and graphs. This workshops shows data displays that can be developed through the grades.

3 Geometry: Castles and Shadows. Shadows give two-dimensional representation to three dimensional objects. Teachers discuss the intriguing relationship between two- and three-dimensional objects that are at the heart of geometry.

4 More Geometry: Quilts and Palaces. Geometry appears in works of art, architectural wonders, and physical structures. This workshop explores geometrical figures, transformation, and connections to art and science.

5 Whole Numbers: Memory and Discovery. What does it take to develop fluency with whole number calculations? This workshop compares algorithms and explores mental math strategies.

6 Ratio and Proportion: When Is a Third More Than a Half? Helps identify students' misconceptions about fractions that hinder their understanding of later concepts. Program participants work with rational numbers and activities dealing with ratio, proportions, and equivalent fractions.

7 Algebra: It Begins in Kindergarten. This workshop traces the fundamental concepts of algebra that students can develop through the grades.

8 The Future of Mathematics: Ferns and Galaxies. The advent of new technologies allows for amazing mathematics that could not exist without computers. This program looks to future directions for mathematics in the 21st Century.