This project provides support for the U. S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction (USNC/MI), a primary means for ensuring U.S. participation in mathematics education at the international level. The project will facilitate periodic contact and interaction with mathematicians and mathematics educators from around the world as issues about instructional practices are addressed. The participation of representatives of USNC/MI on the international stage opens venues for collaborative research and opportunities to learn about successful practices from other countries. The USNC/MI regularly communicates with many professional organizations in mathematics education throughout the United States with reports and updates.

A major function of ICMI is to authorize studies on issues of current international concern in mathematics education, and the next topic to be addressed will be instruction related to number in the primary grades. Another thrust of the USNC/MI is to be represented at the International Congress in Mathematics Education that is scheduled every four years. The ICME-12 meeting will be held in July 2012 in Seoul, Korea and USNC/MI will be organizing several events and hosting a major exhibit throughout the week long meeting.

This award is for the funding of a regional conference to study the future of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, the educational advancement of learners from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups with regards to STEM, and STEM job growth and workforce development in a regional, as opposed to a national, context. The project brings together regional K-16 stakeholders (teachers, administrators, policy makers, community college and four-year college faculty) with STEM education experts to address the major challenges and opportunities in supporting outstanding local programs that prepare students for STEM college-level study and careers, with a special emphasis on preparing under-represented populations. It is designed to bring together researchers and educators from the lower to mid-Hudson River Valley region of New York to layout the contours of current K-16 STEM practice, particularly from the point of view of what efforts are not working, why they are not working, and how to make these efforts work. The project is a partnership with Rockland Community College and CEJJES Institute. Approximately 150 participants from area schools and colleges in New York are expected to attend, representing approximately 200,000 K-12 public schools and 100,000 college students in a region where STEM-related industries are a prominent and growing influence.

The overarching goal of the Conference is to promote regional strategies that will enable this generation of learners, especially those from under-represented groups, to take their place in 21st century STEM careers. It is suggested that such a gathering of individuals and groups concerned with STEM education, as proposed in this project, would address four key questions: (1) How are knowledge and skill requirements for college-level study and careers in STEM changing the preparation needed for K-16? What changes need to be made with respect to curriculum, teachers and teaching, laboratories and access to resources, and in-school and out-of-school learning to improve the regional STEM outcomes? What strategies and practices can be adopted to support and advance STEM education throughout the region? (2) What are effective strategies for advancing the academic success of under-represented groups in STEM and how can they be successfully implemented in this region? (3) How does changing context for STEM education impact the knowledge and pedagogical skill requirements needed for being an effective K-16 STEM educator? What pedagogical strategies are best suited for teaching 21st century STEM skills? How well are teachers' professional development needs being met? What are some strategies for ensuring that the region?s teachers have access to the STEM professional development they need? (4) What are some current models of regional school/community/college partnerships for strengthening the K-16 STEM pipeline? How do these models address regional needs in ways that school districts cannot respond on their own? What solutions would be a good fit for this region? What unique ways in which Community Colleges and other share educational resources, serve as a STEM resource for students in middle school through college? What are the implications of this strategy for other regions concerned about K-16 STEM education?

Regional strategies offer a viable and scalable model for addressing K-16 STEM, especially when they reinforce the availability of services and support that would go beyond the reach of individual school districts. As a result of conference activities, the project will create and maintain a conference website with video capture of key elements of the presentations, conference proceedings and information and materials collected. The website will also be available for shared resources, scholarly papers, and the facilitating of future dialogue.

This is a two-year exploratory study to identify critical aspects of effective science formative assessment (FA) practices for English Language Learners (ELLs), and the contextual factors influencing such practices. Three institutions join efforts for this purpose: University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Colorado at Denver, and University of Washington. FA, in the context of the study, is viewed as a process contributing to the science learning of ELLs, as opposed to the administration of discrete sets of instruments to collect data from students. The study targets Spanish-speaking, elementary and middle school students. Findings from this study contribute to advance knowledge and understanding of FA as an inherent component of the science learning process in linguistically diverse classrooms, and to define a research agenda aimed at enhancing science teachers' ability to enact equitable and effective assessment practices for this student subpopulation.

Three research questions guide the work: (1) What FA practices are occurring in science classrooms that serve predominantly mainstream students and in those serving predominantly ELLs?; (2) How are teachers' FA practices for mainstream students different from or similar to those used with ELLs?; and (3) How do contextual factors and teachers' cultural and linguistic competencies influence FA practices? To address these questions, two conceptual frameworks are used--one for characterizing FA events; the other for examining FA events as a communication process. The study employs a mixed-methods research approach with emphasis on case studies. The sample size consists of three school districts in Colorado and Washington, 16 classrooms (8 elementary, 8 middle school), 16 teachers, and 96 ELLs. Classrooms are selected to represent a particular combination of four factors: (a) teacher ethnicity, (b) teacher formal academic preparation in teaching ELLs, (c) type of linguistic student background, and (d) grade level. Students are selected through a stratified random sample, identified by achievement level (i.e., low, medium, high), and linguistic background (i.e., mainstream, ELL). Data collection strategies to document the implementation of FA at the beginning, during, and at the end of a science unit include: (a) classroom observation protocols, (b) classroom video-recording, (c) video/artifact simulated recall, (d) assessment artifacts, (e) student interviews, (f) teacher questionnaires, (g) teacher interviews, (h) school principal interviews, and (i) school observations. Reliability and validity of most of the data-gathering instruments is determined through pilot studies. Data interpretation strategies include: (a) coding based on the two conceptual frameworks, (b) scoring rubrics to identify levels of effectiveness, and (c) narratives and profiles to describe FA patterns. Publications and the development of a website constitute the main dissemination strategies. A technical advisory board is responsible for formative and summative evaluation. Key evaluation questions are: (1) To what extent does the project enhance research on ELL FA practices through case studies?, and (2) How effectively do the project dissemination activities facilitate understanding of FA practices?

Major project outcomes include: (1) a description of the patterns of formal and informal FA practices for ELLs; (2) a comparison of the FA practices observed in classrooms that vary on the dimensions of teacher characteristics and linguistic diversity; and (3) an empirically and theoretically informed set of findings and strategies for supporting teachers to enact and enhance FA practices sensitive to cultural and linguistic diversity. Three main products are developed: (1) a monograph describing the FA practices observed across the different classrooms with concrete examples; (2) a description of possible professional development strategies to improve in-service FA practices for linguistically diverse students; and (3) a research-informed approach for analyzing FA practices. Besides filling the existing research gap on FA with ELLs, outcomes and products serve as a foundation for a future research agenda and a comprehensive project aimed at ensuring equitable science learning for all students, including ELLs.

The Maryland Institute for Minority Achievement and Urban Education at the University of Maryland is hosting a conference for teachers and school administrators on Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT). Teams of teachers and administrators are recruited from across the country. The conference brings together experts in culturally relevant teaching pedagogy with practitioners around the theme of promoting high achievement in mathematics among minority children and of children in urban settings.

The conference plan is based on the most rigorous research on CRT and on the findings of a prior conference. A substantial amount of time is provided during the conference for teachers to develop or modify lessons under the guidance of knowledgeable experts.

The conference will accommodate approximately 100 participants. Following the conference participants will have the opportunity to work with members of the Maryland institute to develop strategies for improving achievement of minority students. Additionally, participants will be invited to participate in ongoing seminars and workshops held regularly at the University of Maryland.

This project is engaged in an effort to pull together a diverse set of experts to make research-based recommendations on how to implement massive professional development that is needed to effectively employ the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in a way that will reform classroom instruction in mathematics for grades K-12. Thirty-five states have adopted the CCSS in mathematics, and there is a need to help teachers and the public learn about the standards and how to use them to increase mathematics learning. The project is convening a meeting of experts to recommend how to design, implement, and assess large-scale professional development systems that have the potential to reform mathematics instruction. A final report with recommendations and reactions from professional organizations will be disseminated through the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

The work of the project is assisted by the following organizations: Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, Mathematics Association of America, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, and the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics.

The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications is engaged in an effort to bring together members of the community of mathematics curriculum developers and experts in assessment, including representatives and stakeholders from the two assessment consortia recently funded by the US Department of Education. The primary goal of the meeting is to discuss issues and recommend actions regarding assessment design and production that arise in an environment of Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The format will allow information exchange and resource sharing in the service of states and districts as they work to effectively implement the CCSS. Participants will include representatives from the governing states as well as from the leadership teams of the assessment consortia along with experts in curriculum development, standards implementation and assessment.

This work is being carried out with the support and cooperation of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, and the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics.

Spelman College will conduct a 2.5 day regional technical assistance and information conference/workshop for Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) to broaden their participation in programs of NSF's Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL). Spelman College will invite faculty and administrators at accredited MSIs who have not submitted proposals and/or have been unsuccessful in DRL proposal competition to participate in the workshop/conference. The participants will be 50 two-person institutional teams, each consisting of a faculty member from an education specialty relevant to DRL programmatic activities and a faculty member in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field supported by NSF. The goal is to have participants develop research or program ideas and to become more skillful in the preparation and development of competitive proposals.

The conference/workshop will take place on the campus of Spelman College, a Historically Black College. A variety of techncial assistance sessions will be used during the workshop to facilitate information sharing and dialogue, including discussion of DRL programs, discussion on proposal development and proposal submission requirements, small group presentations and discussion sessions, and large group hands-on review and evaluation of a proposal feedback session. The major goal of the conference/workshop is not only to increase the numbers of DRL-targeted proposals submitted by faculty from MSIs but the numbers of competitive proposals resulting in awards. The conference/workshop also proposes to enhance awareness of DRL program activities and requirements by providing awareness opportunities for MSI faculty to increase their understanding of DRL programs that foster the integration of research and learning. By exposing MSI faculty to pertinent information and intense mentoring, more independent researchers will have strong proposal development skills.

The Conference Board for the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) is organizing and hosting a National Forum on Content-Based Professional Development for Teachers of Mathematics. The conference continues and expands in a new direction work begun at two previous CBMS Forums. The current forum focuses on content-based professional development that is related to the Common Core State Standards for school mathematics recently released by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The purpose of this third forum is to provide the participants with a better understanding of the features of high quality content-based professional development for teachers of mathematics and to increase the number of college and university mathematics departments who partner with state departments and local school districts to provide such professional development to working teachers.

The forum features speakers and participants involved in the development of the Common Core State Standards, mathematicians, mathematics education professionals with expertise in teacher professional development, and state and school district personnel.

The conference report will be disseminated widely and the discussions at the forum will provide a critical foundation for the revision of the 2001 CBMS report The Mathematical Education of Teachers (MET). The revised MET will be disseminated broadly through the CBMS participating professional organizations.

Led by STEM educators at Texas A&M University, this project is analyzing and sharing baseline data on the achievement of African American and Hispanic girls on national and state assessments. The objectives of the project are: (1) To conduct a critical analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) achievement data for African American and Hispanic female students in grades 3-6 with a focus on sub-test objectives for science, mathematics, and reading over the years 2000-2010; (2) To organize a one-day conference for 100 teachers, administrators and parents from urban, rural and suburban school districts featuring presentation of the data analysis and a national speaker who will share information and lead discussion on why African American and Hispanic girls at the elementary level should begin to think about seeking STEM careers and the required expected academic preparations; (3) To provide conference participants with STEM career information and materials; and (4) To share results of the achievement data analysis at international/national conferences (National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, National Science Teachers Association, American Educational Research Association) and submit papers for publication in scholarly journals.

Quantitative and qualitative methodology will be used to respond to three research questions: (1) What are the differences in the academic achievement of African American and Hispanic girls in grades 3-6 on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) during the years 2000-2010? (2) What are the voices of African American and Hispanic 6th grade girls about their TAKS test from third grade to sixth grade? (3) What is the impact of a one-day conference on raising the awareness level of educators and parents about academic achievement among African American and Hispanic girls on national and state assessment in grades 3-6 in reading, mathematics, and science? To address question number one, the study will determine if statistically significant differences exist among the variables of race, class, and gender by grades and subject on student performance on the NAEP and TAKS tests and sub-tests in the areas of reading, mathematics and science. To address question number two, a qualitative analysis will be conducted. Students will be interviewed and data will be transcribed, sorted, and categorized into themes. Member checks and triangulation of data will be used to establish validity and reliability of the findings. To address question number three, descriptive statistics will be used to analyze a Likert-type survey instrument that will be developed by the project PI and CoPIs to assess conference objectives. In addition, a purposive sample of participants (teachers and parents) will be interviewed about their participation in the conference and their responses analyzed using qualitative analysis.

With a focus on African American and Hispanic girls' academic achievement, the project will provide educators, parents and students through a conference venue and other outlets with valuable information to understand their competency in subjects that can impact their decisions to seek STEM careers.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) in collaboration with the Council on Exceptional Children (CEC) is organizing and hosting a focused working conference on Response to Intervention (RtI) and related strategies in teaching and assessment in Mathematics. The ultimate goals of this work are: To build a core community of researchers and practitioners from mathematics education and special education to identify, expand and sustain the research needs in this critical area; to identify and improve the research available related to teaching mathematics within a Response to Intervention model; and to develop professional development resources to support teachers's (pre-service and in-service) understanding and application of research-based RtI strategies in mathematics.

Expected outcomes include: a preliminary analysis of needed research studies; a synthesis of both mathematics education research and special education research around a key question of interest; and examples of content for inclusion in professional development and pre-service teacher education. Results will be disseminated through NCTM and CEC print, web, and conference facilities.