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Methods course documentation
Identifying characteristics of math inquiry experiences (D5.1)
Logistics and scheduling information (by Raffaella Borasi)

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Choice of readings assigned

Scheduling of readings and discussions within the program

Logistics of making the readings available to the participants

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Choice of readings assigned:

Although in the context of a Methods course I felt it was legitimate to assign students some theoretical readings, I still wanted to make sure that I would not overwhelm the students with this kind of readings, especially as they had to be assigned in combination to other homework assignments. Therefore, I currently select the following readings to provide information on the theoretical assumptions and instructional implications of an inquiry approach to mathematics instruction:

1. Borasi & Fonzi (1998). "Characteristic features of teaching mathematics through inquiry" (see Instructional materials) -- since this paper was written specifically for an audience who was familiar with our innovative units, and identifies important elements of an inquiry approach in a very "light" writing style;
2. Borasi (1992). "Rethinking mathematics as a humanistic discipline" (see Instructional materials) -- since this paper was also written with a teacher audience in mind and elaborates on a key aspect of teaching mathematics through inquiry that methods course participants are likely to be least familiar with.
3. Borasi (1996). "Rationale for an inquiry approach to teaching mathematics" -- since this paper articulates some of the more theoretical foundations of an inquiry approach.
4. NCTM (1991). "Teaching Standards" section within the Professional Standards for Teaching mathematics -- to make a connection between the instructional implications of an inquiry approach and those recommended by an acknowledged school math reform movement.

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Scheduling of readings and discussions within the program

The various components of this activity all take place immediately after the students have completed their experiences as learners and the readings of various "stories" of inquiry-based mathematics instruction, and before their mid-term test (requiring them to use these readings to inform the analysis of a specific teaching episode). Whenever possible, I have tried to assign the readings over two weeks (so as not too be "too heavy"), with follow-up discussions scheduled in the course meeting immediately following each reading assignment. In that case, I make sure that the readings specific to inquiry are assigned after the class discussion where we try to identify what characterizes the innovative instructional experiences experienced in the course and read for homework -- so that these readings do not inhibit the students' own thinking on this issue, and at the same time can provide a means to validate and expand on what discussed in class.

In what follows, I have reproduced an excerpt from the schedule of Implementation D of the Methods course to show how these reading assignments and discussions (highlighted in boldface) were scheduled in relation to other activities within Section D5 (highlighted in italics) in this specific implementation:

Lesson 7: "Walk down memory lane" and "What have I learned" discussion on Area experience Reflections on participants' learning differences View video of a tessellation inquiry unit in a 6th grade classroom Follow-up discussion of the video	Hw. 7: written reflections on the video reading stories of inquiry math classes readings on assessment and NCTM Teaching Standards ideas about assessing learning in an area inquiry unit
Lesson 8: Follow-up discussion on stories of inquiry math classes read and video First identification of characteristics of an inquiry approach Assessment activity (taking an item of new NYS exams) + discussion	Hw. 8: Readings on an inquiry approach (Borasi 1992, 1996; Borasi & Fonzi, 1998) MIDTERM take-home exam (i.e, Analyze in writing a classroom vignette from an inquiry perspective)

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Logistics of making the readings available to the participants

Xerox copies of the unpublished manuscripts were distributed to the participants, with the author's permission. Teacher educators using this package are also permitted by the author to duplicate the Borasi (1993) manuscript, which has been included (photocopy-ready) in the Instructional materials of this section.

As mentioned in other sections, the NCTM Professional standards for teaching mathematics was one of the required texts for the course.

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