Professional Development

Foregrounding Equity in Mathematics Teacher Education

Author/Presenter

Marilyn Strutchens

Jennifer Bay-Williams

Marta Civil

Kathryn Chval

Carol E. Malloy

Dorothy Y. White

Beatriz D’Ambrosio

Robert Q. Berry III

Year
2011
Short Description

Equity in mathematics education should be one of the most important concerns of
teachers, administrators, policy makers, mathematicians, and mathematics educators. In fact, the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educator (AMTE), the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics NCTM), three national organizations that support teacher educators, mathematics teachers, and teacher leaders, have made equity a priority for their organizations (Gutierrez et al. 2008). Position statements, standards documents, and various books identify key equity issues and recommend directions compelling all involved in the mathematics education of students to become aware of equity issues and to take steps toward eliminating the inequities that plague K-16 education.

Resource(s)

Knowledge for Algebra Teaching for Equity (KATE) Project: An Examination of Virtual Classroom Simulation Approaches

More specifically the objectives of this presentation are to:

  1. Describe the design and start-up of a 5-year NSF funded project that focuses on the design, development, and testing of technology-enriched teacher preparation strategies to address equity in algebra learning for all students.
  2. Describe experiences and perceptions of preservice teachers (PST) and graduate students serving as middle grade student (MGS) avatars, following engagement and simulations in a virtual classroom setting in Second Life.
Author/Presenter

Trina Davis

Irving Brown

Gerald Kulm

Chih-Feng Chien

Glenn Phillips

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2012
Short Description

In this paper, we present an overview of the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Knowledge for Algebra Teaching for Equity (KATE) Project and experiences from preservice teachers who are preparing for teaching middle grades mathematics. We highlight findings from a preliminary analysis of the effectiveness of virtual simulations of problem-based teaching of algebra concepts in enhancing preservice teachers' knowledge and skill in teaching diverse students.

Resource(s)

Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge for Teaching Algebra for Equity in the Middle Grades: A Preliminary Report

Author/Presenter

Irving Brown

Trina Davis

Gerald Kulm

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2011
Short Description

This article presents our plans and initial work to explore how mathematics teacher education programs can prepare teachers for diverse middle grades classrooms. It describes the start-up of a five-year National Science Foundation project to design, develop, and test technology-enriched teacher preparation strategies to address equity in algebra learning. The participants in this pilot group demonstrated a need to develop their mathematical problem-solving skills, but they also exhibited strong beliefs about their own potential to be successful in the mathematics classroom. Preliminary results appear to indicate that Second Life (software) simulations can provide rich settings for teacher development on specific mathematics teaching skills and challenge them to apply their ideas about diversity. (Contains 5 tables and 4 figures.)

Math for All Participant Book

Access the Math for All: Facilitators version at http://www.corwin.com/books/Book228832

Author/Presenter

Babette Moeller

Barbara Dubitsky

Marvin Cohen

Karen Marschke-Tobier

Hal Melnick

Linda Metnetsky

Year
2012
Short Description

Developed by the Education Development Center and Bank Street College of Education, this professional development program will show general and special education teachers how to collaborate to provide a high-quality, standards-based mathematics education to all students, including those with disabilities. The Math for All learning experiences detailed in the corresponding facilitator’s kit will help teachers:
•Assess students’ strengths and needs
•Use multiple instructional strategies to teach specific math concepts
•Tailor lessons based on individual students' strengths and needs to help them achieve high-quality learning outcomes in mathematics

This program will emphasize how the neurodevelopmental demands of a math lesson interact with individual students' strengths and needs. The authors will provide step-by-step guidance for adapting materials, activities, and instructional strategies to make lessons accessible to all students. This participant book includes the handouts and reproducibles for the program. The forthcoming kit will include a facilitator’s guide and a corresponding DVD.

Videobased lesson analysis: Effective science PD for teacher and student learning

The Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) project is a videobased analysis-of-practice PD program aimed at improving teacher and student learning at the upper elementary level. The PD program developed and utilized two “lenses,” a Science Content Storyline Lens and a Student Thinking Lens, to help teachers analyze science teaching and learning and to improve teaching practices in this year-long program. Participants included 48 teachers (n = 32 experimental, n = 16 control) and 1,490 students.

Author/Presenter

Roth, Kathleen

Garnier, Helen

Chen, Catherine

Lemmens, Meike

Schwille, Kathleen

Wickler, Nicole

Year
2011
Short Description

The Science Teachers Learning from Lesson Analysis (STeLLA) project is a videobased analysis-of-practice PD program aimed at improving teacher and student learning at the upper elementary level. The PD program developed and utilized two “lenses,” a Science Content Storyline Lens and a Student Thinking Lens, to help teachers analyze science teaching and learning and to improve teaching practices in this year-long program. Participants included 48 teachers (n = 32 experimental, n = 16 control) and 1,490 students. The STeLLA program significantly improved teachers' science content knowledge and their ability to analyze science teaching. Notably, the STeLLA teachers further increased their classroom use of science teaching strategies associated with both lenses while their students increased their science content knowledge. Multi-level HLM analyses linked higher average gains in student learning with teachers' science content knowledge, teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about student thinking, and teaching practices aimed at improving the coherence of the science content storyline. This paper highlights the importance of the science content storyline in the STeLLA program and discusses its potential significance in science teaching and professional development more broadly. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., J Res Sci Teach 48: 117–148, 2011