For a description of the Crossroads session structure, please see the initial Crossroads session.

Advancing understanding of how early learning of mathematics progress is dependent on the development of good measures. Presenters of this session produced the “Research-based Early Mathematics Assessment” (REMA), and now better understand its limitations. They are now creating and evaluating a substantial revision of the REMA using emerging multidimensional theoretical models, both cognitive and psychometric. The development of this instrument will lead to substantive advances in the fields of mathematics education research, cognitive psychology, and psychometric theory. 

There is great interest in interdisciplinary curriculum materials that span different grade levels, courses, and disciplines. The DIMACS Center at Rutgers University has been developing materials in the form of one-week modules for high school students at the interface of mathematics and biology for over five years now and is continuing to do so. The reception to these materials has been enormously positive by both mathematics teachers and biology teachers across the country from small rural schools to large urban schools and everything in between.

The overarching goal for this session is for presenters to receive feedback on how they might increase participant implementation of the classroom materials developed in their project. Their biggest challenge is to support deeper implementation of these materials in project classrooms despite current policy contexts in project schools. Teachers regularly say they like the materials, find them valuable, and understand their purposes.

Presenters in this session discuss the ways user input can improve the development of STEM education materials. They discuss their purposes and strategies for engaging the end users of materials in the development process. Discussion touches on recruiting user partners, establishing a relationship and role, communicating, and gathering data. The session is informed by, and will inform, a draft brief on the topic.

Learn how to create free, online interactive lessons of your own design to help students understand graphs and the STEM concepts represented in graphs. SmartGraphs permits non-programmers to create new multi-page, interactive activities. Teachers and students may also freely use and share existing activities, which are released under a Creative Commons license (see http://www.concord.org/projects/smartgraphs#curriculum). SmartGraphs activities run in a Web browser; there is no software to download or install.

This session provides an opportunity for participants to discuss findings from a systematic review of instrumentation that the DR K–12 community proposed to use in their projects. The conversation will include a presentation of the most commonly named instruments being used to assess teachers’ content knowledge, classroom practices, and pedagogical content knowledge. Presenters discuss with participants the state of measurement tools for teachers and the implications for accumulating knowledge across projects.