Application

Project Proposal Narrative

One of the primary goals of the Christian college is to illuminate the connections between our faith and our disciplines to our students. Unfortunately, in interviews with our graduates for program assessment, very few can discuss meaningful application of faith to the mathematics program. Some graduates will comment on intermittent devotionals or prayer. Students might comment on the review of historical figures who studied religion as well as mathematics. As a mathematics teacher educator, I grow concerned that graduates are not able to provide goals that emphasize a Christian perspective for their careers or professional development. This failure comes in part from my inability, as instructor, to articulate a Christian perspective toward mathematics and its instruction.

My proposed contribution to the CCCU Faculty Development Workshop is to provide an annotated course outline for our upper-level mathematics instructional techniques course that will provide guidance to students to synthesize their pursuit of God with their pursuit of mathematics and teaching.

For the past eight years I have found little structure for the type of mathematics methods course that I believe students need. Students need an overview of the mathematics taught at the primary and secondary levels along with instructional techniques beneficial to those concepts. Students also need broad guidelines for their instructional practices that relate to how children and youth learn mathematics and how to bring about change in their understandings. As with most colleges, these tasks need to be completed in a two-semester credit course at Huntington College. While I have experimented with various texts and articles to help structure this experience, none have been completely satisfactory. Teaching Secondary Mathematics by Brumbaugh and Rock (2001) provided a good overview of mathematics instruction but it fails to integrate the Christian perspective and it requires more time than feasible within a two-semester credit course.

Regardless of the materials used to provide structure to the mathematics methods course, the missing emphasis is on the Christian view towards this particular profession. In a step toward providing guidance to this aspect of the curriculum, I researched views regarding the teaching methods of Jesus and compared them to my own study of Jesus’ teaching method. The results were shared in a campus lecture entitled, The Rabbi’s Results: Instruction That is Life Impacting (shared on campus, April 8, 2002). (An article by the same name is currently under review for publication.) This lecture focused on Jesus’ use of experience to teach life impacting lessons. Analysis of Jesus’ teaching methods as well as biblical perspectives on the theory and philosophy that undergirds the teaching of mathematics should be examined in conjunction with other guides for this profession. The proposed annotated course outline would address these issues.

Below is a list of key concepts shared in the Brumbaugh and Rock (2001) text, Teaching Secondary Mathematics, along with possible Christian perspectives to extend those concepts. (The ideas shared are done in a cursory fashion, to be explored further as part of the project.)

Pedagogical Concept	Extensions
What is mathematics?	This question influences the emphasis that a teacher shares with his/her students. Students who examine mathematics as a way of thinking, a study of patterns, or a language will see new connections between faith and mathematics. Mathematics can become a new way to see God for our students.
How do students learn?	How does God teach us? What patterns for learning do we see in scripture? What emphasis is there on learning in scripture? How do modern learning theories compare/contrast to truths shared in scripture? How would Jesus teach mathematics?
Instructional planning	How do I minister to students by trying to meet their educational needs? What is the biblical view of our work? How should my role as a Christian affect my contribution to the profession?
Motivation and Classroom Management	How does God motivate us to learn? What is the biblical view of discipline…of setting boundaries?
Problem Solving	How are the fundamentals of problem solving essential to all areas of our lives, including our study of God? How can we help students gain the ability to pursue questions of God’s existence and purpose for life by developing their abilities to solve problems in general?
Reasoning and Proof	How has God created us to determine truth? How can my skills to seek out truth enable me to better know God?
Patterns	What do patterns in life tell us about the intelligent design of our creator? How do my abilities to discern more intricate patterns help me to also gain a better understanding of the creator behind those patterns?

Through collaboration with others at the workshop and the input of the workshop faculty, I believe that much progress can be made toward the completion of the project proposed here. The students I teach need a more explicit treatment of the relationship between the study of God and the study and instruction of mathematics. It is my hope that this project will provide a practical guide for this treatment for both my students and myself.