Foundations of Geometry and Measurement for Teachers

Foundations of Geometry and Measurement for Teachers is an activity-based, problem based, manipulative-based, and technology-based laboratory manual that can be used in a mathematics course in geometry and measurement for elementary and middle school preservice teachers. Most activities are organized around the key areas of area, perimeter, symmetry, similarity, properties and calcification, Pythagorean Theorem, and algebraic connections. Some of the labs have a PowerPoint presentation designed to accompany the questions in the lab so that instructors who may not have used the class activity extensively have some guidance for developing the key concepts of the lab. This laboratory manual is designed as loose leaf with hole punches so that students can easily organize their mathematical explorations into a notebook that is a detailed record of what has been done in class along with any supplemental materials. This expected organization is integral to the author’s approach of requiring significant depth of understanding on assessments. Because there is also an explicit focus on the child’s perspective, the questions in each activity and on the assessments are meant to elicit responses that would match the language of teachers as they are interacting with a child in that mathematical/social context our match the language that a child with deep understanding would use.