5: The Experiences in a Concepts in Calculus Course for Middle School Mathematics Teachers

Concepts in Calculus for Middle School Teachers is a mathematics course for preservice teachers at Wright State University (WSU). A Call for Change from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) (Leitzel, 1991) recommended five areas to be included in the mathematical preparation of middle-grades mathematics teachers: number concepts and relationships, geometry, algebra and algebraic systems, probability and statistics, and concepts in calculus. Thus, when we at Wright State University began developing a cohesive program for preservice middle-school mathematics teachers, we created six courses to address these recommendations. In this paper, I discuss the course I developed to provide our preservice teachers with experiences in the concepts in calculus. A Call for Change (Leitzel, 1991) states that preservice middle-grades mathematics teachers should: