Teacher-Leader Workshop July 14, 2003

1. Transforming East Alabama Mathematics East Alabama Partnership for the Improvement of Mathematics Education Teacher-Leader Workshop July 14, 2003

2. Small Groups… • Please sit in groups of 4 including: • Representatives from different levels (primary, intermediate, middle, high school) • Representatives from different districts • Both dotted and non-dotted name badges

3. Overview of Session • Introduction to the Partnership (Gary) • Cooperative Learning (Marilyn) • Roles of Teacher Leaders (Marilyn) • Questioning (Gary) • Final Reflection

4. Introduction to the Partnership

5. Auburn University Tuskegee University Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama Partners SCHOOL DISTRICTS • Alexander City • Auburn City • Chambers County • Elmore County • Lanett City Schools • Lee County • Macon County • Opelika City • Phenix City • Russell County • Tallapoosa County • Tallassee City

6. #1. Achievement Levels • Our students are not achieving at an adequate level. • There are substantial gaps in performance.

7. National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2000 • Grade 4: • Alabama ranked 35th out of 40 states • Significantly worse than 27 states • Grade 8: • Alabama ranked 35th of 39 states • Significantly worse than 29 states

8. Comparison of East Alabama to State Averages (2002) • Grade 4 (SAT-9) • State Average: 56 • East Alabama: 52 • Grade 8 (SAT-9) • State Average: 53 • East Alabama: 47 • Grade 11 (Pass rate on AHSGE) • State Average: 79 • East Alabama: 73

9. Grade 4 White students: 61 Black students: 39 Fully-paid lunch: 66 Free/reduced lunch: 42 General education: 56 Special education: 14 Grade 8 White students: 55 Black students: 35 Fully-paid lunch: 58 Free/reduced lunch: 36 General education: 50 Special education: 14 Comparison of Subgroups in East Alabama (2002 SAT-9)

10. Comparison of Subgroups in East Alabama (2002 AHSGE Pass Rate) • Grade 11 • White students: 81 • Black students: 62 • Fully-paid lunch: 79 • Free/reduced lunch: 60 • General education: 75 • Special education: 34

11. #2. State Cycle for Mathematics • Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics approved in February • No overlap in content • Many fewer objectives Result: It is particularly important that districts work on curriculum and pacing guides • Textbook Adoption the coming year

12. #3. Teacher Preparation • Shortage of mathematics teachers • The additional “Highly Qualified” challenge • Preparing more-effective new teachers

13. The Power of Partnership • By pooling resources, we can accomplish more together than we can individually

14. 90% 73% Students Can Do Basics, ... Source: NAEP 1996 347 + 453 864 – 38

15. 33% … But Students Cannot Solve Problems Ms. Yost’s class has read 174 books, and Mr. Smith’s class has read 90 books. How many more books do they need to read to reach the goal of reading 575 books? Source: NAEP 1996

16. Long-term NAEP • Steady increases in basic skills since the 1970s • However, there is a continuing “performance gap” in NAEP and other measures where students are asked to apply their knowledge • The problem in mathematics education is NOT a lack of the “basic skills.”

17. How NOT to Make Progress… • Focusing on raising test scores by “teaching to the test” results in only short-term gains (1-2 years) • GOOD TEACHING Leads to Good Outcomes

18. Baltimore City Public School SystemCTBS Mathematics Composite ScoresMedian National Percentiles

19. A New Vision for School Mathematics • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics:Principles and Standards for School Mathematics • This is the basis for the Alabama Course of Study: Mathematics

20. Small Groups • What are characteristics of this “New Vision”?

21. Characteristics of the Vision • Designed to meet the needs of all students • Engages students in making sense of mathematics— “inquiry based” • Focuses on the usefulness of mathematics • Includes a broad view of mathematics • More than arithmetic in elementary school • Attention to statistics and data analysis across the curriculum

22. Teaching Assessment Technology The Principles Describe particular features of high-quality mathematics programs • Equity • Curriculum • Learning SMALL GROUPS: • Read the description of one of the principles in the Overview.

23. Statements of Principles The Equity Principle Excellence in mathematics education requires equity– high expectations and strong support for all students. The Curriculum Principle A curriculum is more than a collection of activities: it must be coherent, focused on important mathematics, and well articulated across the grades. The Teaching Principle Effective mathematics teaching requires understanding what students know and need to learn and then challenging and supporting them to learn it well.

24. Statements of Principles The Learning Principle Students must learn mathematics with understanding, actively building new knowledge from experience and prior knowledge. The Assessment Principle Assessment should support the learning of important mathematics and furnish useful information to both teachers and students. The Technology Principle Technology is essential in teaching and learning mathematics; it influences the mathematics that is taught and enhances students’ learning.

25. “Content Standards” Number and Operations Algebra Geometry Measurement Data Analysis and Probability “Process Standards” Problem Solving Reasoning and Proof Communication Connections Representation The Standards SMALL GROUPS: • Look at the chart of Standards and Expectations for your gradeband.

26. Cooperative Learning

27. Organize cooperative groups

28. ACTIVITY • This problem is about using the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4, in any order you choose, to create arithmetic expressions with different numerical values according to the rules for order of operations. • See handout for instructions. • YOUR TASK: Create as many 1-2-3-4 expressions as you can for each of the numbers from 1 to 25. Remember, you must use each of the digits 1, 2, 3, and 4 exactly once.

29. Sharing of Responses

30. Questions • Describe how your group worked on the activity. • Describe within-group interactions. • Did people explain things to one another? • Did people ask questions of one another? • What accounted for this level and degree of participation? • Describe how the activity promoted individual accountability? • Describe how the activity promoted mutual interdependence. • Describe how the group formations affected the interactions within your group. Note: Questions were adapted from Artzt (1999), p. 13.

31. Characteristics • Cooperative groups are a useful tool in promoting student learning and thinking. • However, they need to be structured effectively.

32. Rules for Cooperative Learning • Each member of the group has responsibility to contribute to the group work. • Each member of the group should be willing to help any other member of the group who asks for help. • Each member of the group is accountable for the learning progress of the group.

33. Rules for Cooperative Learning, Continued • Within your group you will respect each other and listen to what each other has to say. • When a question is asked of the group, each member should be able to answer the question and state what the group’s thoughts are. • Each member of the group has a role.

34. Rules for Cooperative Learning, Continued • Each member of the group has a role; • Group Facilitator ‘s role is to keep the group on task • Materials Manager’s role is to obtain, maintain, and return materials needed for the group to function. • Recorder’s role is to record all group activities and processes. • Reporter’s role is to report group processes and accomplishments to the teacher and/or the entire class.

35. Rules for Cooperative Learning, Continued • You can only ask for help when all members of the group have the same question. • Members of a group should speak in a voice that can only be heard by its members. • Members of the group will be evaluated individually and collectively.

36. FAQ • How many people should be placed in a group? • 2-6 students depending on the nature of the activity. • 4 students is the optimum number. • How should I choose who should be in each group? • A teacher should carefully assign the members to each team. • Preferably the teams should be heterogeneously mixed based on ability, race/ethnicity and gender. • Teams of four could consist of a high achiever, a low achiever, and two average students unless there is a special reason for placing students of the same ability level together.

37. FAQ • How long should a team stay together? • Teams should stay together from three to six weeks. • A team generally needs a couple of weeks to learn how to work together and deal with each others’ personalities. • Teams should be changed periodically so that students can experience working with a variety of students and that they will not get bored working with the same students all the time.

38. Kagan (1989) The Structural Approach to Cooperative Learning

39. Other Resources • Tips for Using Cooperative Learning Groups • Sample Scoring Rubric for Assessing Individual Students in a Cooperative Group Project • Cooperative Learning Resources

40. How Do We Achieve the Vision?

41. Systemic Improvement of Mathematics Education • Pay attention to the entire system • Teachers, administrators, the public • Alignment is the key to success: • State Course of Study • Local Curriculum Guides • Assessment • Textbook Selection • Professional Development

42. Long-term Goals • Improving mathematics achievement across partnership • Reducing gaps in performance between subpopulations of those students • Increasing the content and pedagogical knowledge of teachers • Increasing the supply of qualified teachers • Developing mathematics teacher leaders

43. (continued) • Increasing administrators’ understanding of mathematics goals and priorities • Redesigning the preparation of teachers • Aligning district curriculum, instructional materials, and assessment practices • Improving parental and community understanding of mathematics education

44. Short-term Goals • To begin to build the infrastructure needed to support the long-term, systemic improvement of mathematics education • To take actions that can have an immediate impact on mathematics education

45. Initial Activities • Professional development of mathematics teacher leaders • Work on curriculum guides for each course and grade • Review textbooks based on the curriculum guides to support district reviews

46. Curriculum Writing Team • Goal: To create a workable curriculum guide for each course and grade that will guide instruction • Aligned with Principles and Standards, Course of Study, and other curriculum and policy documents • Responsive to assessments such as SAT-10, AHSGE, and NAEP • Emphasis on articulation across the grades • “It’s not just what you teach, it’s how you teach!”

47. Curriculum Team Progress • Initial goals: • Develop the general scaffolding which will guide the further development of the Curriculum Guides • Develop sufficient detail to guide the textbook adoption process • About 60 teachers and faculty have met eight times between April 30 and July 8 • Organized into four gradeband committees (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

48. Initial Curriculum Document • Statement of intent for the document • Mission statement • Big ideas across grade-bands • Mission statement for each gradeband • Big ideas for each grade and course

49. Textbook Review Team • Goal: To review textbooks that will support the TEAM-Math curriculum • Three committees (K-5, 6-8, 9-12) • At least representative from each district on each committee, along with two university consultants • Field-testing is being planned for early in the school year • The committee will be formed late summer and meet through September/October.

50. Continuing Curriculum Development • The team will reconvene after textbook selection is completed to produce a more-detailed guide, including: • A description of the guide, its philosophy of instruction, and how to use the guide • A developmental sequencing of big ideas and instructional objectives for both content and process outcomes • Units of instruction noting placement and duration as well as clustering and ordering of instructional objectives • Sample tasks • Correlation to textbooks by page number.