MSERC: projects Converging Curriculum: As Delaware districts seek to place as many students as possible in inclusion instructional settings, teachers of special needs students may require additional work in mathematics content and pedagogy. The Converging Curriculum project, funded by grants from the Delaware Department of Education, seeks to train these teachers in core content and powerful mathematical representations. Student work is examined and exemplary lessons explored for use in extra-time settings. Offered for teachers of grades 6 and 7 during the 2007-2008 school year, the program will be expanded to include grade 8 in 2008-2009. Stipends are provided for a cadre of Converging Curriculum teachers. Call Val Maxwell (vmaxwell@UDel.Edu) at (302) 831-0646 for further information.
Powerful Pedagogical Practices: Begun this past year, this program of professional development was crafted by the leadership of the Delaware Mathematics Coalition in response to requests from curriculum directors around the state. Teams of high school math teachers and building administrators from seventeen Delaware school districts meet monthly to explore pedagogies that support math learning for all students. Teachers are presented with challenging tasks to implement in their classrooms. Student work on these tasks is analyzed as well as videotaped interviews of students discussing their work. An emphasis is placed on understanding student thinking through effective classroom tasks and questioning strategies. Administrators are included in the discussions of classroom practice with special sessions set aside to explore communication with their mathematics faculties. Powerful use of technologies including document cameras and Smartboards are also modeled. For additional information about the “P-Cubed” program of professional development, contact Jamila Riser (jqriser@gmail.com) at (302) 857-3393.
School-Based Teacher Leaders: Entering its fifth and final year in 2008-2009, this program of professional development, funded by a Mathematics & Science Partnership grant from the US Department of Education, seeks to solve the problem of effective instruction for students at-risk of failure in middle and high school mathematics. More than three score teachers from a dozen Delaware districts work on action research projects to study the behaviors of these target students and interventions that work. At-risk behaviors that have been observed and cataloged include avoidance behaviors, dependence upon excessive teacher scaffolding, and reluctance to produce detailed written work. Teacher interventions to address these behaviors have been piloted by teachers across the state. Each spring, SBTLfest is held at the University of Delaware to showcase the work of district teams in our SBTL program. For more information, contact Thomas Fernsler (rafiki@copland.udel.edu) at (302) 831-2303.
A core responsibility of MSERC is to serve as a facilitator and a bridge between the mathematics and science communities at the University and their counterparts in Delaware schools. Currently, these collaborations involve externally funded projects with faculties in the Colleges of Engineering, Marine and Earth Studies, and Arts and Sciences as well as with the School of Education and several units in Human Services, Education and Public Policy. Delaware GK-12: A Partnership between the University of Delaware and the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District is an NSF-funded project to place graduate students from basic science departments into a classroom to work with high school teachers to explore teaching and learning in the high school classroom. The Nature-Inspired Engineering Research Experiences for Teachers (NISE-RET), also with funding from NSF, immerses high school teachers in cutting-edge research for 6 weeks during the summer. Teachers will work to transform their teaching and communicate the excitement of science and engineering to their students. An NSF-funded project, Development of Pedagogical Content Knowledge and the Transition from University Student to Teacher brings together personnel from three colleges to study intensively the developmental progress of science teachers from new undergraduates to experienced classroom “master teachers.” In all of these multi-year projects, MSERC science associates serve as project leaders.
Be sure to check the calendar for specific dates!
