David Beer

Professional Title
Co-Director, School Support Services
Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
David Beer joined The Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education as ethnographic evaluator in 2003. His work at the center has included: providing strategic consulting support to the New York City Department of Education as it implements Everyday Mathematics; developing a survey group that has conducted numerous studies of mathematics teaching, learning, professional development, and curriculum use in the U.S., in Chicago, and in New York City; developing a video library of Everyday Mathematics lessons in urban classrooms; co-leading the Early Childhood team revising and authoring the 3rd Edition of Everyday Mathematics for Kindergarten, and directing the field test of the 3rd Edition of Everyday Mathematics for Pre-Kindergarten. Prior to joining CEMSE, Beer was Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He taught occupational and physical therapy students, trained graduate students in qualitative research, and evaluated human service, early childhood, and elementary school interventions. He also published articles and chapters on evaluation, the experience of illness and disability, and qualitative research methods. From 1984 until 1991, Beer was research associate at the Erikson Institute, where he taught, conducted various evaluation research projects concerning pre-primary and primary school education and human service delivery, and helped author What Children Can Tell Us (Garbarino et al, 1987). Beer was trained as a cultural anthropologist at the University of Chicago.
University of Chicago (U of C)
07/15/2010

This project will design, develop, and test a virtual learning community (VLC) to enhance the ability of first- and fourth-grade teachers to provide mathematics education. The goal is to produce a prototype of a VLC for first- and fourth-grade Everyday Mathematics teachers that integrates three primary elements: (a) learning objects rooted in practice, such as lesson video, (b) community-building tools offered by the internet, and (c) focused content that drives teachers' professional learning in mathematics.