NCTM Annual Meeting: Presentation on research conducted by three MSP Projects
Description
Through the leadership of Joy Whitenack and the NSF Institute: Preparing Virginia's Mathematics Specialist partnership, a presentation will be made at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics 2006 Annual Meeting and Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri, April 26-29, 2006. The presentation will take place during the NCTM research pre-session symposium. It will report on the research and development activities of three mathematics specialist projects. These projects are ongoing, regional initiatives across the country, projects that are funded through the NSF MSP Institute Partnership Program. These Institutes are each multi-year programs designed to support those teachers who are or will become mathematics specialists in elementary, middle or secondary schools. Although each project represents a different emphasis, they share the common goal of supporting a professional development infrastructure for classroom teachers.
The Projects
The Math in the Middle Institute Partnership (M2) is a partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and local area school districts that support teams for a total of 122 middle level teachers (Grades 5-8).
Presenter: Ruth Heaton
The Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute (OMLI) is a partnership between Oregon State University, Portland State University, Teachers Development Group, 10 Oregon school districts, and the RMC Research Corporation. OMLI is building leadership communities that are composed of K-12 teachers, school administrators, and higher education faculty within each participating school.
Presenter: Tom Dick
Preparing Virginia's Mathematics Specialist is a partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University, the Virginia Mathematics and Science Coalition, Norfolk State University, University of Virginia and 6 school district partners who are preparing two cohorts of 25 K-5 mathematics seeking state licensure as mathematics specialists.
Presenters: Aimee Ellington & Joy Whitenack
The discussant for the session will be Denise Mewborn.
Significance
Each of the projects represents a sustained, systematic effort to coordinate mathematics content instruction through summer coursework with professional development workshops and/or coursework during the academic school year for the participants. In the symposium, the presenters will report their ongoing efforts, that is, what they have learned, what they are learning and the potential impact the project is having in their respective regions. As such, we get a glimpse of the far-reaching role that these types of reform initiatives might have on teachers, other key school personnel in schools as well as on their students.