EMS Program Description
The courses emphasize the development of both content and pedagogy. Courses will involve field experiences connecting to participants' classroom practice and teaching context. In addition, Course 3 involves a leadership practicum where participants have the opportunity to plan, implement, and reflect on leadership activities in their school community.
Courses Heading link
At UIC, the Elementary Mathematics Specialist Program includes courses in the following areas:
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Course One
Content focus: Whole numbers concept and operations, including attention to teaching and learning in early childhood.
Pedagogical focus: Developing a growth mindset.
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Course 2: Rational numbers and proportional reasoning
Content Focus: Rational numbers including multiplicative reasoning, fractions, ratios, and proportional reasoning.
Pedagogical focus:Formative and summative assessment.
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Three
Grounded in content that includes data, statistics, and probability
Leadership focus: Developing expertise including an emphasis on communication skills and deepening understandings of adult learning such that participants are prepared to:
- Advocate for high-quality mathematics instruction
- Enhance collaboration within and across grade levels
- Support professional learning around high-quality mathematics instruction
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four
Content Focus: Geometry and measurement including working with 2D and 3D shapes as well exploring transformations.
Pedagogical Focus: Facilitating classroom discourse and enhancing opportunities for student agency.
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five
Content Focus: Patterns, functions, and algebraic reasoning in contexts that deepen understandings of the connections and dependencies between the content domains of earlier courses.
Pedagogical Focus: Supporting equitable instruction and enriching opportunities for ALL students to learn.