Teacher Quality Grants:
High Schools, Community
Colleges & Universities, a
perspective
G. Donald Allen, TAMU
Sharon Sledge, SJCC
Seamless Transitions, March 28-30, 2005
Outline
 Teacher Quality Grant – Type A, overview
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of the team and technology
Relations between partners
Getting the right content at the right level
Technology – developing, teaching,
training, using
Conclusion & Recommendations
Teacher Quality Grant – Type A,
overview of the team and
technology
 The collaboration – origins
 The Type A grant process
 The Type B grant practice
The Collaboration
University ↔Community College ↔K-12
 ICTCM pre-sessions – technology focus
 ICTCM summer workshops – technology
in the classroom
 Teacher Quality Grant – Type A –
materials development
 Teacher Quality Grant – Type B –
professional development
Type A - Pre-Calculus Components
 Content
 Videos
 Interactivity
 Assessment
 Rubrics
 Activities
 Signature activities
The Authoring Team
 Texas A&M University
 San Jacinto Community College
 Houston Community College
 College Station ISD
 Pasadena ISD
 Aldine ISD
The Authors
G. Donald Allen, Texas A&M University; animations, production, content modules, workshops.
Amy Austin, Texas A&M University; content authoring.
authoring, workshops, mentoring tips and teaching strategies.
Heather Axelson, Texas A&M University; module design, content authoring.
Adrienne Bentz, Texas A&M University; administrative assistant.
Kathryn Bollinger, Texas A&M University; content authoring.
Monica Bozeman, College Station ISD; video module production, virtual calculator emulation, design.
Oscar Chavarria, Pasadena ISD; reviewing, design, workshops.
De-Vonna Clark, Canyon ISD, Randall High School; resource authoring.
Marcia Drost, Texas A&M University; content authoring.
Dianne Goldsby, Texas A&M University; resources, trainer notes, mentoring tips and teaching strategies, design.
Mark Hockman, Aldine ISD; reviewing, workshops.
Sarah Janes, San Jacinto College - instructor/trainer notes, ISD liaison, workshops.
Susan Metalfe, Pasadena ISD, liaison.
Kathleen Walker Murrell, Pasadena ISD; reviewing, workshops.
Diem Nguyen, Bowling Green State University; essays.
Charles Odion, Houston Community College; assessments.
Marilyn Osborn, Channelview ISD; liaison.
Kevin Nunn, Aldine ISD; reviewing, workshops.
Sara Ptomey, Aldine ISD; liaison.
Michael Pilant, Texas A&M University; - content development, HTML integration.
Mary Selcer, College Station ISD; video module production, virtual calculator emulation, design.
Sharon Sledge, San Jacinto College - instructor/trainer notes, ISD liaison, content modules, workshops.
F. Michael Speed, Texas A&M University; - video production, training, tutorials
Walter Stewart, Aldine ISD; reviewing, workshops.
Granville Sydnor, San Jacinto College - evaluation.
Jennifer Whitfield, Texas A&M University; module design, advisory, content
Teacher Quality Type B
 Emphasis
 Clarity of content for teachers!
 Examples of problems/content/activities the
new teacher can use.
 Technology in the classroom – how, why, what
and when.
 The real role of technology – to help the
teacher!
Teacher Quality Type B
 Challenges
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Teachers understanding content
Mathematical misconceptions.
Learning technology vs using technology
Dominance of the curricula by the TAKS
Teacher motivation
Understanding K-12 issues
Teacher Quality Type B
 Successes
 Clarifying mathematical ideas and improving
teacher self confidence
 Clarifying what is required at the collegiate
level
 Teachers giving formal presentations on using
technology in the classroom
 Teachers developing technology interventions
to aid their teaching
Teacher Quality Type B
 Scoreboard
 10% completely redefined what they will be
doing with technology, have developed
independent ideas
 35% have clearer ideas of how to use
technology and intend to use it
 35% have less apprehension about the
spectrum of technology available
 20% no change
Technology - I
 Excel
 Plotting software: Maple, Winplot
 Graphing calculators
 Video capture
 Screen capture
 Digitization
 CBR
 Wacom tablet & Tablet PC
Technology II – in the schools
 One – several PC’s in the classroom
 Large screen TV
 Graphing calculators
 PC-TV connections?
 Data projector
 Computer lab
Institutional and personal roadblocks
to active teaching with technology
TVs: Connection vs Resolution
The PC-TV connection
Can you read this?
Technology - III
 Universities have expertise with math
technologies, particularly with computers
 Community colleges and high schools
have graphing calculator expertise
 Teachers are receptive to technology but it
is difficult for them to implement it
Graphing Calculators – brief history
 Affordable graphing calculators arrive 1980’s.
 Colleges adapt engineering curriculum to
use them.
 Schools follow by integrating calculators
into the math curriculum.
 Universities abandon graphing calculators
(mid 90’s).
Teacher comments, observations
 Teachers like certain types of software –
determined by utility and ease of learning
(e.g. video capture, plotting)
 Teachers are administratively compelled to
use graphing calculators when they know
they should be teaching more content.
Teacher comments, observations
 Teachers need concept ideas on how to
use the technology – actual examples are
best
 Teachers tend to prefer technology that
may help them do their job in the
traditional (transparencies) way.
 Math teachers are tremendously
overloaded with non-math related tasks.
Teacher Comments:
TECHNOLOGY
PowerPoint
Preparing for the PowerPoint presentations
was food for thought. The possibility of
hooking students thru technology was a plus.
Because you have the ability to move at the
pace of the student's learning ability.
Digitizer
… digitizing pictures...a fun and learning experience for
me. I can only imagine how beneficial it would be for the
student. Identifying math in the world... shapes …and
making equations, widens the student's perspective of
the real world.
I am really glad for the chance to capture
digital images from picture files, digital
cameras, calculators, etc. My students are
not all responding to traditional teaching
methods and my school district is urging us to
use more hands-on methods
Excel
Thanks for showing me the continued math
uses of excel. I never knew that it could do
so much.
The use of Excel to show regression was
great. Then showing the same regression on
the graphing calculator just reinforced the
concept.
I think the activity that we did using Excel
was excellent. I learned how to do things that
I had no idea of how to do before this
workshop. I even tried to do an activity of my
own that involved trig functions and
parameter changes
(a*sin(b(x-c)) +d)
Camtasia
I can see this (Camtasia) benefiting my class
and well as for the two students that I have on
homebound. Class presentations can be sent
to them and they are able to follow along with
verbal instructions from me and not from the
HB teacher that is not a math knowledgeable
person.
CBL/CBR
I was one of the few teachers that used it in my
math department. I liked using it because it
caught the students’ interest -- they wanted to
"play" and make it work.
Content – I
 Universities have content experts but little
knowledge in knowing what happens in
the high school classroom.
 Community Colleges have a variety of
levels of content expertise
 Developmental to Sophomore level teaching
responsibilities
 Community Colleges have a variety of
levels of content expertise
 Developmental to Sophomore level teaching
responsibilities
 High School faculty have pedagogical
expertise
 Community colleges and Universities need
to know more about pedagogy &
pedagogical content knowledge
Content – II
Universities and Community colleges need to
know more about high school curriculum
 TEKS
 Content Level
 Reteach/Retest
 High School Teachers need to know more about
college curriculum
 Content Background Expectations
 Technology Expectations
Content – III
 Community Colleges are closer to high
schools in culture, context and locality.
 Community Colleges serve as a bridge
between high school and universities
 For students
 For faculty
Teacher Comments:
CONTENT
We discussed the different ways students look
at solving quadratics. We also talked about
common generalizations some students,
teachers, and publishers make concerning
quadratics.
We did the activity where we linked series,
sequences, and sums with their appropriate
algebraic representation. It was a great
activity. I don’t think I have ever so clearly
seen the connection - or at least it has been
so long since I’ve looked at them that I don’t
remember.
The discussion on evaluate vs. solve was
interesting. I got a lot of ideas about
presenting the idea of domain and range,
evaluate and solve.
I had never created rules for exponential
functions based on a table of values. I
enjoyed seeing how and why this process
works.
This class has truly been a stretch back to
high school.
I found the problems mentally challenging. …
I think too many of our math teachers were
like me when I came out of collegeunprepared. I think that we don't really
understand all of what's behind some of the
higher level math.
Classes like this help us to learn more and
therefore, become better teachers of math.
I'm slowly coming out of my comfort zone …
Teacher Comments
PEDAGOGY
:
… held a group discussion about using 2
continuity videos as classroom tools to
teach/review piece-wise functions being
continuous or not. Although this is beyond the
scope of my 9th graders, it is helpful to know
what they will be learning in years to come.
I think that as technology advances, teachers
and schools must advance, as well. So we
really do not have the option of not using
every advance we can.
… I see my district using this (Camtasia), for
all classes to view one presentation of one
teacher.
I think it's important to look at things in
different ways and hear other people's
perspectives. It opens your mind to
possibilities. I think we need to listen to our
students in the same way.
I had to think about the answers that I chose
and looked for ways to justify them. I especially
liked the fact that I got to discuss my answers
with a partner. I think that this is a good way to
make students aware of their peers thought
processes and to give credence to cooperative
learning
Recommendations
 Lack of consistent notational usage for
mathematical terms.
 Standard assessment instruments should be
used across all TQ grants.
 A technology inventory should be available for
each school/entity. Procedures for use clearly
defined.
 Professional development should be required for
teachers in content and technology and PCK
Recommendations
 Components that teach teachers how students
learn should be a part of TQ grants.
 Close the gap of technology expertise in HS, CC
and Universities so students do not have that
hurdle to face when attending college.
 Avenues for communication between HS, CC
and University mathematics departments should
be established
Teacher Comments
RECOMMENDATIONS
:
Do I think I'll use this new tool for teaching?
Honestly, I like to use new tools and ideas in
my teaching but only if the school can make it
available because realistically I can't afford to
buy all the neat stuff that I might be able to use
in my classroom.
The technology at your fingertips on the
podium is absolutely awesome......can I have
one for my regular classroom?
… the inverse converter is something I can
use with my students. …seeing if I could
schedule a day around when it will be taught,
to go into the computer lab. They usually
don't do that, but since it'll be first semester
and not in the spring, I'm hoping to get into
the lab.
I have been too used to dumbing down the
material to get most students to pass the
class that they did not learn enough to do well
on national assessments.
I need to bring the lower students up
instead of bring the upper students down.
Finally I can say without a doubt that every
child I have can and will benefit from what I
am learning or being exposed to with them.
I had a great time working on PowerPoint. I
would really like to use it more in my class …I
need more practice in order to become more
comfortable with it.
Today we discussed undefined and
indeterminate numbers. The discussion was
very enlightening. I am sure that I will use
these same types of questions to provoke true
mathematical thought processes from my
students.