Workshop

Teaching is a complex profession that requires knowledge of mathematics, pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of the students one teaches, as well as skill in managing the contexts of instruction.  Teacher education is also a complex enterprise that involves many uncoordinated components, constraints, and actors.  Faculty in mathematics focus their attention on teaching mathematics and often know little about pedagogical training, adolescent and child development, the history of education in the United States, teacher licensure, state regulations, accreditation, or the challenges faced by new teachers. Our panelists will address these issues which are all part of understanding mathematics teacher education.

In 2009–2010, state organizations led an effort to write common standards in mathematics and English language arts; the resulting Common Core State Standards in Mathematics have been adopted by 44 states. Mathematicians and mathematics educators were significantly involved in the writing process. If well implemented, these standards hold the promise of improving the preparation of students for college and career. I will give a brief overview of the standards writing process, the structure of the standards, and the current state of implementation.

A panel of outstanding mathematics teachers will discuss the mathematical preparation of teachers and the challenging work of teaching mathematics in America’s K-12 schools. (End time is approximate)

Panelists will discuss, from the perspective of math department chairs, the work of mathematicians in math education, collaboration with math educators, tenure and advancement for individuals involved in math education, the role of math departments in providing math-content courses to future teachers and in professional development, policy and other aspects of math-content courses (e.g. which count for a math major, pedagogy in the context of math content courses, use of lesson study and implications for other math department courses), and the role of department chairs in encouraging mathematics faculty to get involved with future and present teachers. (Start time is approximate)

In November 2012, the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences published The Mathematical Education of Teachers II, updating the original MET document and making recommendations for the mathematics that teachers should know and how they should come to know that mathematics. The speakers, who were the lead authors for the elementary, middle level and high school chapters, will discuss the recommendations of the MET II.

The recently adopted Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) place a large emphasis on statistics in the middle- and high-school grades. In light of these increased expectations of delivering conceptually based statistical content at K–12, the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) identified the statistical preparation of teachers as an area of concern in their recent document, Mathematics Education of Teachers II (MET II). Despite the increased attention statistics is receiving in national and state standards, research suggests teachers are not likely to be adequately prepared to teach statistics at the level suggested in the American Statistical Association’s Pre-K–12 Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education (GAISE) Framework or the CCSSM.

The CBMS MET I and MET II documents emphasize the need for teacher preparation in statistics; however, the documents’ primary focus is the mathematics education of teachers. The Joint ASA-NCTM Committee thought there was a critical need for a companion document, titled Statistics Education of Teachers (SET). This report, due out at the end of 2014, builds on the following:

• Existing K–12 statistics standards and guidelines (Pre-K–12 GAISE Framework, NCTM Standards, and Common Core State Standards in Mathematics)
• Relevant research results from the studies of teaching and learning statistics
• Data on assessment items used in large-scale and high-stakes tests and the work of the NSF-funded LOCUS project (the assessment piece of the Pre-K–12 GAISE Framework)
• Experiences of teacher preparation institutions that are recognized leaders in the statistical preparation of K–12 teachers

The document makes recommendations for teacher preparation in statistics at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Specific content is discussed in the report as well as problems and tasks illustrating the content are provided.  The report also makes an effort to discuss the logistics of how to implement such recommendation within preservice teacher programs and inservice professional development.

The Mathematics Teacher Education Partnership (MTE-Partnership) seeks to transform secondary mathematics teacher preparation to ensure that candidates are prepared to support the success of their students in alignment with the Common Core State Standards. Organized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the MTE-Partnership includes 38 teams headed by an APLU institution along with at least one K-12 district and other partners. A set of Guiding Principles developed in the initial phase of the project builds on the premise that strong partnerships across mathematics departments, colleges of educations, and K-12 are necessary to making real progress. Incorporating these stakeholders, the project is currently developing interventions in five areas, which are informed by the Mathematics Education of Teachers II. This talk will provide a brief overview of the partnership and the important role played by mathematicians in its work.