eric.ed.gov har udgivet: With a B.S. in math but no prior math education training, the author’s first job as a math teacher was at an alternative charter school with a holistic mission. The author struggled tremendously and no doubt left numerous opponents to math reform in his wake. Fortunately, he attributed his ineffectiveness to his lack of experience and skill as a facilitator and curriculum writer, not to a flaw in the vision. Though he has no way of knowing, he has since wondered what percentage of new educators in similar situations would draw a different conclusion, something like, “Math is different from other subjects. It can’t be learned collaboratively. You just have to memorize.” This experience motivated him to understand why and how math teachers can become effective in… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: America’s leaders are increasingly concerned about U.S. competitiveness in a rapidly globalizing world. In response, during the 2006 State of the Union Address, President Bush introduced the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) to promote policy that bolsters student achievement in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). At the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) summer 2006 meeting, Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings discussed provisions of the ACI that address teacher shortages in mathematics and science, and corresponding student academic readiness. Specific ACI education provisions include the Adjunct Teacher Corps, the Advanced Placement-International Baccalaureate (AP/IB) Incentive Program, the National Math Panel, Math Now for Elementary Students, and Math Now for Middle School Students. (Contains 2 boxes, 2 figures and 1 table.) Link til kilde
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This digest reviews a variety of strategies that might be employed by school districts, teacher education institutions, and state educational agencies to attract, train, and retrain Hispanic teachers in math and science. The need for long-term solutions is discussed. Five action-oriented steps to attract Hispanic high school graduates into the teaching profession include identifying talented Hispanic high school students, developing their interest in teaching, locating and engaging “master” teachers, arranging significant student-teacher contact, and providing incentives for students to participate in special programs. Adaptations of recommendations by Franz, Aldridge, and Clark are also listed. Short-term solutions are listed, e.g., providing readily available opportunities for recertification, offering improved working conditions, offering teachers financial assistance during additional years of college preparation, providing summer jobs in industry, recruiting part-time instructors… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The San Francisco Math Leadership Project is an attempt to re-educate elementary teachers, many of whom do not consider mathematics their favorite subject and have limited mathematics backgrounds. The task is to increase the mathematics knowledge of these teachers and build their confidence in their own ability to do mathematics and to teach it. Leadership development begins with a 4-week summer institute and continues with workshops presented by participants at their school sites. In this paper, discussions include background of former participants, goals of the project, and leadership activities of former participants. Three graphs and three tables are included, as well as survey forms and responses. (DC) Link til kilde
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: In 1981, an estimated 25% of the nation’s secondary school teachers had summer jobs outside education. This report on the current status and future directions of employer-sponsored teacher internship programs has an underlying theme: that such programs can make a serious contribution to the career and professional development needs of teachers and to the quality of instruction. Chapter 1 considers how employer-sponsored teacher internships are connected to educational reform. The second chapter discusses the purposes of teacher internships. Eleven pioneer teacher internship programs are briefly described in chapter 3. Many of these programs focus on improving mathematics and science instruction; many also place a strong emphasis on communication skills. All rely heavily on the leadership and motivation of employers to improve scientific and mathematical understanding and competence.… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper contributes to the theory and evidence that mathematical cognition is embodied. Drawing on the practices of primary teachers in South Africa engaged in a longitudinal research and development project — Wits Maths Connect–Primary — we report on aspects of lessons aimed at developing number sense through whole-class teacher-learner interaction. Two episodes are analysed from an embodied cognition perspective. The episodes focus on helping Grade 1 (6-year-olds) learners become fluent in counting forward and back or ordering numbers. Analysis reveals different embodied metaphors underlie the teachers’ actions, the nature of which are likely to lead to different learning opportunities. We conclude that our analysis supports a theory of embodied cognition, and demonstrates its usefulness as an analytical tool. [For the complete proceedings, see ED597799.] Link til… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was delighted to host a group of current and former Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellows as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fellowship program. Outstanding math and science teachers in America’s K-12 schools, the Einstein Fellows spend a year (or sometimes two) working on Capitol Hill or in the science related offices of several federal agencies. The 1990 cohort of Einstein Fellows was part of a growing national concern about the performance of Americas K-12 schools and the lagging performance of American students in mathematics and science. Now, 20 years later they continue to be a part of a growing federal role in seeking excellence and equal opportunity in the nation’s schools. The road to effective education reform has… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This study describes key challenges and necessary supports related to implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) identified by rural math educators in the Northeast. The research team interviewed state and district math coordinators and surveyed teachers in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, to assess their most pressing challenges and associated needs. Key challenges included time and support for teachers to change their instructional practices to meet the CCSSM, availability of high-quality instructional materials, and opportunities for collaboration. The report was produced in response to input from the Northeast Rural Districts Research Alliance (NRDRA), one of eight research alliances working with REL Northeast & Islands. This “Stated Briefly” report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report entitled “Gearing… Continue Reading →
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Recognizing the role numbers play in people’s everyday lives is crucial to students’ math understanding now and down the road. That’s why Bob Krech, a curriculum specialist in New Jersey’s West Windsor-Plainsboro district, likes to teach a lesson he calls “Numbers All Around Us.” This lesson uses real-world examples to show that numbers help people answer many questions, including “How much?” “How fast?” and “Where do I go?” Expert teacher Bob Krech shares strategies for teaching real-world math. Link til kilde
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eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Rural schools, like others in the nation, are enjoined to use national and state standards as the basis for educational reform. Moreover, national standards for mathematics education were established early (1989) and have been disseminated widely. Nevertheless, little is known about the dynamics of standards-based reform of mathematics in rural schools. This paper reports findings from a set of four case studies of mathematics education in rural secondary schools to provide insights into the dynamics of instructional reform. Analysis of data from interviews, observations, and documents revealed two emergent themes: (1) math teachers address calls for improvement by building on traditional practices and (2) math teachers meld traditional and reform practices. Link til kilde
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