The
Niswonger Foundation “Reaching for
Excellence in Math Partnership” is designed to build a strong
partnership among East Tennessee State University and with several
school districts in the western portion of the First Tennessee
Congressional District, most of them rural, low-income, and low
achieving. The project seeks to achieve the following goals:
(1) provide math teachers (grades 4-9) in the targeted school
districts opportunities to learn advanced math content and learn
and implement standards-based strategies; (2) increase student
achievement and reduce the math achievement gaps in elementary and
middle school as measured by TCAP; (3) increase the number of
elementary and middle school math teachers participating in
standards-based professional development and equip teachers in the
targeted schools to become highly qualified; (4) and provide
project participants training on standards-based resources and
instructional materials during the summer leadership
institutes.
The project consists of a summer component and an academic year component. The summer component will train approximately 30 math teachers (elementary and middle), over a three-year period, during a ten-day, 50 hours of instruction, summer workshop, followed by extensive follow-up professional development and training activities for each participant during the academic year. Thirty new teachers will be added each year. In addition to an intensive summer workshop, participants will be heavily involved in follow-up in-service training during the academic year (on school site). The ETSU math instructor involved in the summer component will work with the teachers throughout the academic year to deliver additional professional development, thereby increasing the total number of teachers impacted by the project. The specific components of the math project will address the Tennessee curriculum standards, NCTM Focal Points, local school district curriculum, and needs of local school districts.
The Niswonger project will put a face on math
reform in the aforementioned school districts. Operationalzing our
goals and objectives will demonstrate commitment to show how that
commitment translates into real efforts and activities to change
the culture, practices, and policies. The project justifies
interventions based on a thorough needs assessment. The project
stresses the critical role of math teachers in reform through a
large investment in professional development, attending to
teachers’ content knowledge and skills as necessary for
substantive changes in teaching and learning. In contrast to
grade-level mastery objectives, which are endpoints for learning,
the Niswonger math project will focus on instruction that will help
students learn content that gives them conceptual understanding and
a foundation for increasing their understanding as they encounter
richer and more challenging mathematics (at the high school level).
The proposed partnership will also build credibility among key
constituents, including university math faculty and school
administrators and use these interventions to demonstrate
commitment to change. In particular, the project will monitor and
evaluate our interventions. As we establish data systems and
track quality and impact, the information will be used by the
school districts to show that the impact of the project is
producing desired results and achieving the goals and objectives of
the project.
For more information about this program please contact Dr. Jack
Rhoton at
rhotonj@etsu.edu. If you are a math
teacher in one of the aforementioned school districts, please
contact Dr. Rhoton or your school system math coordinator.
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