Mathematics

Transforming Scientific Practices to Promote Students Interest and Motivation in the Life Sciences: A Teacher Leadership Development Intervention

Principal Investigator: 
Pauline Chinn

How Do Teacher Leaders Transform Scientific Practices to Promote Students Interest and Motivation in STEM? Formal and informal K-12+ educators learn to employ strategies of community mapping, curricular mapping and place-based, culturally sustaining pedagogy to write, teach, and evaluate NGSS lessons that engage underrepresented students in mathematics, life, earth, and physical sciences. Two case studies highlight how educators apply these strategies to intersect three domains: experiential/place-based learning, culturally sustaining learning, and disciplinary learning .

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Discipline / Topic: 
Engineering
Mathematics
Science
Technology
Assessment
Broadening Participation
Curriculum
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Educational Technology
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Systems Reform
Target Audience: 
Teachers

Teaching STEM with Robotics: Design, Development, and Testing of a Research-based Professional Development Program for Teachers

Principal Investigator: 
Vikram Kapila

To lower the barriers in STEM disciplines for students, using evidence-based research, we designed and conducted a professional development program that built middle school teachers' capacity to use hands-on robotics and engineering design as the curriculum focus. Through summer workshops, teachers learned to: build and program LEGO robots; create and implement standards-aligned robotics-based STEM lessons; and develop, practice, and examine optimal pedagogical approaches for STEM learning using robotics.
 

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Discipline / Topic: 
Computer Science
Engineering
Mathematics
Science
Curriculum
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Educational Technology
Professional Development
Target Audience: 
Middle School

Video in the Middle: Flexible Digital Experiences for Mathematics Teacher Education

Principal Investigator: 
Nanette Seago

The Video in the Middle (VIM) project is creating forty asynchronous two-hour modules in which a video clip is at the center as teachers take part in an online experience involving mathematical problem solving, video analysis of classroom practice, and pedagogical reflection. A RCT study was conducted in February/March 2020 with 68 teachers randomly assigned across the three delivery formats Self-paced: 29, Locally facilitated: 19, VIM facilitated: 20) to examine the VIM PD impact.

Co-PI(s): Catherine Carroll and Bob Montgomery, WestEd

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Discipline / Topic: 
Mathematics
Professional Development
Target Audience: 
Middle School

Talk is the Ticket to Teaching Math to English Learners

Mathematics
Discourse
ELL
Teacher Practice
Elementary

This article describes one mathematics professional development program designed to support all K-5 students' engagement in productive mathematical discussions, in particular emergent multilingual learners.

Malzahn, K., Sztajn, P., & Heck, D. (October, 2019). Talk is the ticket to teaching math to English learners. The Learning Professional, 40(5).

Access Link: 
https://learningforward.org/journal/resilient-leadership/talk-is-the-ticket-to-t...
Author/Presenter: 
Kristen Malzahn
Paola Sztajn
Daniel Heck
Lead Organization(s): 
Horizon Research, Inc.
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Year: 
2019
Short Description: 

This article describes one mathematics professional development program designed to support all K-5 students' engagement in productive mathematical discussions, in particular emergent multilingual learners.

Decomposing Practice in Teacher Professional Development: Examining Sequences of Learning Activities

Mathematics
Discourse
Professional Development
Research
Teacher Practice
Elementary

In this paper, we analyze a PD design, examining its activities and the sequencing of professional learning tasks. We use a theoretical framework typically used in pre-service teacher education to understand the design of one PD program. Our overarching goal is to theorize about how to design PD and sequence professional learning tasks for practicing teachers.

Access Link: 
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X19309874?via%3Dih...
Author/Presenter: 
Paola Sztajn
Daniel J. Heck
Kristen A. Malzahn
Lara K. Dick
Lead Organization(s): 
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Horizon Research, Inc.
Year: 
2020
Short Description: 

In this paper, authors analyze a PD design, examining its activities and the sequencing of professional learning tasks.

Controlled Implementations: Teaching Practice to Practicing Mathematics Teachers

Mathematics
Discourse
Professional Development
Teacher Practice
Elementary

In this chapter, we use the Framework for Teaching Practice (Grossman, et al., 2009) as a conceptual tool for analzying the design of professional development. Although initially developed to examine the education of prospective teachers, we contend that this framework is appropriate for analyzing and supporting the design of professional development. The framework consists of three elements: decompositions, representations, and approximations of practice.

Access Link: 
https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004418967/BP000021.xml
Author/Presenter: 
Paola Sztajn
Lara Dick
Reema Alnizami
Dan Heck
Kristen Malzahn
Lead Organization(s): 
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Horizon Research, Inc.
Year: 
2020
Short Description: 

In this chapter, authors use the Framework for Teaching Practice (Grossman, et al., 2009) as a conceptual tool for analzying the design of professional development.

Activating Math Talk: 11 Purposeful Techniques for Your Elementary Students

Mathematics
Broadening Participation
Discourse
ELL
Professional Development
Teacher Practice
Elementary

Many mathematics teachers agree that engaging students in high quality discourse is important for their conceptual learning, but successfully promoting such discourse in elementary classrooms—with attention to the needs of every learner—can be a challenge. Activating Math Talk tackles this challenge by bringing practical, math-specific, productive discourse techniques that are applicable to any lesson or curriculum.

Access Link: 
https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/activating-math-talk/book263223
Author/Presenter: 
Paola Sztajn
Daniel Heck
Kristen Malzahn
Lead Organization(s): 
North Carolina State University (NCSU)
Horizon Research, Inc.
Year: 
2021
Short Description: 

Activating Math Talk is a resource for promoting high-quality math discourse in grades K-5. The content of the chapters and discussion questions within are meant to spark conversations among teachers, teacher leaders, administrators, and education faculty about how to get all students, in particular emergent multilingual learners, talking about math in productive ways. It presents both a theoretical and practical lens and offers useful frameworks, techniques, and other supports for mathematics instruction.

Understanding the Role of Lesson Study in K-12 Mathematics and Science Teacher Education

Principal Investigator: 
Sharon Dotger

This working conference brought together 34 science and mathematics teacher educators from 25 institutions across 17 states and territories. Our purpose was to collaboratively build knowledge about utilizing lesson study as a mechanism to support pre-service teacher learning. We discussed essential features of lesson study, design features of teacher education programs that enhance or inhibit lesson study practice, and the implications of lesson study for partnership with schools and colleagues.

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Discipline / Topic: 
Mathematics
Science
Target Audience: 
Post-secondary

STEM Sea, Air, and Land Remotely Operated Vehicle Design Challenges for Rural, Middle School Youth

Principal Investigator: 
Guenter Maresch
STEM SEALs builds collaborative partnerships between North Florida College and local middle schools to bolster STEM pathways for students in this region. It involves the development of inexpensive, rigorous, and versatile design challenges to expose rural middle school students to high quality STEM experiences. Researchers study the feasibility and efficacy of these experiences to promote greater awareness of STEM pathways, increase readiness for STEM study; and generate student identity as STEM-able, STEM-skilled, and STEM-belonging.
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Discipline / Topic: 
Computer Science
Engineering
Mathematics
Science
Technology
Curriculum
Target Audience: 
Middle School

Strengthening Mathematics Intervention Classes: Identifying and Addressing Challenges to Improve Instruction for Struggling Learners

Principal Investigator: 
Amy Brodesky
The SMI project's goals are to: 1) study the current landscape of mathematics intervention classes at the middle grades, and 2) create PD to strengthen intervention teachers' practices for supporting students with mathematics difficulties/disabilities.
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Image of Poster
Discipline / Topic: 
Mathematics
Broadening Participation
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Professional Development
Special Education
Target Audience: 
Middle School

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