Mathematics and Equity:
Developing the Leadership of Experienced Teachers
To Work With Beginning Teachers
Nancy O’Rode, Ph.D., Evaluator
(onancy@education.ucsb.edu)
Nancy Terman, Director
(Terman@education.ucsb.edu)
Sarah Hough, Ph.D., Evaluator
(sarahh@education.ucsb.edu)
Project RENEW:
Leadership for Excellence and Renewal
in Mathematics Education
University of California, Santa Barbara
Project RENEW is funded by the National Science Foundation, Grant #ESI-0101995. Opinions expressed
in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of NSF.
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
Page 1 of 17
According to the Glenn Commission (2000), over the next decade two-thirds of the
teachers in Americas schools will be replaced, either by retirement, attrition, or job
change. In addition to this high attrition rate for new teachers, many veteran teachers
report that they and their colleagues are experiencing "burn-out". Increasing pressure on
teachers from high-stakes tests, attacks on education and educators, inadequate physical
and curricular resources, and a lack of respect for the profession are among the factors
contributing to the decline in teacher morale. Project RENEW, a five-year National
Science Foundation-sponsored teacher retention and renewal project, is addressing these
issues by developing a model that both supports and retains competent beginning
teachers, develops the leadership capacity of experienced teachers, and at the same time
increases both groups’ ability to implement investigative mathematics in their
classrooms. RENEW is achieving this continuum of teacher learning and leadership by:






Developing a leadership cadre of experienced teachers who work with and
support beginning teachers;
Increasing beginning and experienced teachers awareness of race, class and
gender issues as they work individually and with each other;
Increasing teachers' capacity to work with a diverse student population (especially
English Learners);
Supporting teachers as they take responsibility for school change;
Increasing the mathematics and pedagogical knowledge of beginning and
experienced teachers;
Designing activities to help teachers implement the vision of mathematics
classrooms as described in the NCTM Principles and Standards for School
Mathematics (NCTM, 2000).
This study will highlight the three-year leadership development of experienced teachers
as they work with beginning teachers who are in their first five years of teaching.
Research Questions: How is Project RENEW contributing to the Preceptors’ development
as leaders? In what ways are Preceptors’ views of themselves as leaders changing?
Other questions that emerged during the analyses are, How is the development of
leadership in the second cohort similar or different from the first cohort? What are the
contributing factors for this? How has an emphasis on equity issues in mathematics
shaped preceptors’ work with preceptees?
Background
The RENEW: Leadership for Excellence and Renewal in Mathematics Education Project
is a five-year leadership development project in mathematics education that began in
2001 and is based in the Center for Educational Change in Mathematics and Science at
the University of California, Santa Barbara. The goal of the project is to create and
implement a viable model for retaining competent beginning and experienced K-12
teachers in the teaching profession and at the same time increase their ability to
effectively teach mathematics.
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
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In Project RENEW, two cohorts of 30 experienced teachers (called Preceptors) receive
intensive mathematics professional development over a three-year period. These
Preceptors, with the assistance of project staff, develop and implement strategies to
mentor newer teachers in their districts for a period of three years. Preceptors conduct
after-school Mathematics Education Professional Seminars (MEPS), and visit classrooms
to observe, teach model lessons, and coach beginning teachers (called Preceptees) on a
regular basis. Project RENEW differs from the Beginning Teachers Support and
Assessment Program (BTSA) in that it is content-specific, focusing on the mathematics
classroom, and that teachers in their first five years of teaching can participate in
RENEW (unlike the two-year restriction in BTSA).
In the project, leadership is developed by helping teachers find their voice, increase their
confidence, deepen understanding of equity and mathematics, and trusting that teachers
will use their knowledge and understanding for effectively supporting teachers new to
mathematics teaching. See Appendix A: Overview of the Leadership Development Strand
for Experienced Teachers for a progression of the leadership activities that the preceptors
experienced.
RENEW is structured to enable intensive leadership development of each of the two
cohorts of experienced teachers. During the first year, cohort I preceptors participate in a
10-day summer institute and six academic year seminars. In the second year, they attend
a four-day residential retreat and six academic year seminars. For the third year of the
project, participation of the two cohorts of preceptors overlap; it is the last year for cohort
I and the first year for cohort II. In the summer, cohort I attends a five-day summer
institute – the last two days of which they meet with the new cohort of preceptors (cohort
II). During the academic year of their third year, cohort I preceptors attend four seminars
and support the leadership of the cohort II preceptors. Cohort II experiences the same
cycle of leadership development and completes their third year at the end of the five
years of the project. Table 1 illustrates the timeline for the cohort I and II preceptors’
participation and responsibilities in the project.
The leadership development institutes and seminars for cohort I preceptors are planned
and conducted by RENEW Principal Investigator Julian Weissglass, Director Nancy
Terman, and four experienced teacher leaders who represent a range of grade levels. The
cohort II leadership development activities are planned and conducted by the RENEW
P.I. and Director and four other experienced teacher leaders, three of whom are also
cohort I preceptors.
The RENEW evaluators are looking at how the project is changing the mathematical
knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, understanding of equity, and leadership in both
preceptors and preceptees (the experienced and beginning teachers). The overall goal of
the evaluation is to:
 Monitor whether the project is being implemented as planned.
 Understand the impact of project activities on the participants.
 Investigate which activities are moving participants toward project goals.
 Describe unexpected developments (should any occur).
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
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Year 1
Leadership
Develop. For
Preceptors
Preceptors’
Work with
Beginning
Teachers
Cohort I
Cohort II
Leadership Institute in Math Ed. (10 days)
Six Academic Year Seminars (1 day with
Administrators, 1 day with Preceptees.)
Plan and conduct 21 hours of Math
Education Professional Seminars (MEPS).
Classroom Visits, coaching, and informal
meetings.
Year 2
Leadership
Develop. For
Preceptors
Preceptors’
work with
Beginning
Teachers
Four-Day Residential Retreat
Six Academic Year Seminars. (1 day with
Administrators, 1 day with Preceptees.)
Plan and conduct 21 hours of MEPS.
Classroom Visits, coaching, and informal
meetings.
Plan & conduct 3-5 day Summer Institute
in Mathematics for Beginning Teachers.
Recruitment begins for Cohort II
Preceptors
Year 3
Leadership
Develop. For
Preceptors
Preceptors’
work with
Beginning
Teachers
Five-Day Leadership Institute in summer.
Four Academic Year Seminars - one with
cohort II preceptors & administrators.
Plan and conduct 21 hours of MEPS.
Classroom Visits, coaching, and informal
meetings.
Plan & conduct Math PD for Beginning
Teachers in district.
Leadership Institute in Math Ed. (10 days)
Six Academic Year Seminars (One day
with administrators & cohort I)
Plan and conduct 21 hours of Math
Education Professional Seminars (MEPS).
Classroom Visits, coaching, and informal
meetings.
Year 4
Leadership
Develop. For
Preceptors
Preceptors’
work with
Beginning
Teachers
Reunion Seminar with Cohort II
Preceptors.
Four-Day Residential Retreat
Six Academic Year Seminars. (1 day with
Administrators, 1 day with Preceptees.)
Plan and conduct 21 hours of MEPS.
Classroom Visits, coaching, and informal
meetings.
Plan & conduct 3-5 day Summer Institute
in Mathematics for Beginning Teachers.
Year 5
Leadership
Develop. For
Preceptors
Preceptors’
work with
Beginning
Teachers
Reunion Seminar with Cohort II
Preceptors.
Five-Day Leadership Institute in summer.
Four Academic Year Seminars - one with
cohort II preceptors & administrators.
Plan and conduct 21 hours of MEPS.
Classroom Visits, coaching, and informal
meetings.
Plan & conduct Math PD for Beginning
Teachers in district.
Table 1: Timeline of Cohort I and II Preceptors’ Participation and Responsibilities
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
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Theoretical Framework
The framework on which the strategies for leadership development used in this project is
based rests on six "pillars" (Weissglass, 1998) for teacher professional development and
support. The Pillars of the Project (Figure 1) were introduced to the preceptors at the
beginning of the project.
Figure 1: Pillars of Project RENEW
The design of RENEW is based on the belief that professional development in
mathematics education is most effective when all six pillars are addressed.
The Mathematics Pillar. The project leadership sees mathematics as exciting and
beautiful as well as important. Further, they believe that every person deserves to
experience this excitement and to have the power of mathematics at their disposal, both
for their own enjoyment and for its use as a problem-solving tool. The mathematical
professional development activities that preceptors and their preceptees engage in are
"investigative" in nature and are in line with the mathematics envisioned in the Principles
and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000). The vision of mathematics that is
promoted by the project sees mathematics as more than subject matter “per se”. It
includes the structure/doing of the discipline-- knowledge about mathematics, which
includes its “doing”. Ball (1991) describes these aspects of the discipline well.
[Mathematics] includes understandings about the nature of mathematical
knowledge and activity: what is entailed in doing mathematics and how is truth
established in the domain. What counts as a solution in mathematics? How are
solutions justified and conjectures disproved? What ideas are arbitrary or
conventional and which are necessary or logical? (p. 7)
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Thus, activities during the institute are designed to have participants re-experience
mathematics content that emphasizes these aspects of the discipline as well as learn
specific subject matter.
The Learning Pillar. Learning is defined here as the process of taking in new information
from the environment, comparing and contrasting it to past experience and previously
understood information, and evaluating, organizing and storing the acquired information
so that it is available for use in new situations (Weissglass, 1998). This view of learning
is consistent with a constructivist view of learning (Cobb, 1997; von Glasersfeld, 1990).
Knowledge is not passively received either through the senses or by way of
communication. Knowledge is actively built up by the cognizing subject. (von
Glasersfeld, 1990 re-quoted in Jaworski, 1997, p. 4).
Project participants discuss learning in the context of doing mathematics. They examine
their own learning processes, hear from others about how they approach a problem, and
discuss implications for student learning. They also reflect on their own beliefs about
learning and provide opportunities for their preceptees to do so as well.
The Equity Pillar. The project’s vision is for schools to become both nurturing
communities and forces for the liberation of human intelligence - promoting the growth
and empowerment of all students. Moreover, making progress on race, class and gender
equity is essential to the success of the reform efforts in mathematics education.
Opportunities for preceptors to deepen their own understanding of how race, class, and
gender bias affect mathematics teaching and learning are part of the RENEW
professional development. Processes and activities from the Equity in Mathematics
Education Leadership Institute (EMELI) are used to raise preceptors’ awareness and
increase their ability to address equity issues with their preceptees (Weissglass, 2000).
EMELI educators are continuing this work through the National Coalition for Equity in
Education (NCEE).1
The Educational Change Pillar. The view that this project takes about educational
change is that institutions cannot and will not change unless people and their
relationships change and these changes cannot be legislated or mandated. If one expects
to be successful in changing classrooms and schools, therefore, attention must be given to
promoting personal and social transformation. Although attention to issues such as
curriculum, assessment, pedagogy, and school policy are important, they are not
sufficient. (Weissglass, 1994;1996) Thus, this project emphasizes the importance of
developing relationships and attending to the social and psychological dimensions of
educational change. Teachers struggle with the discomfort and fear of change while they
work to bring it about in their mathematics classrooms. A primary responsibility of the
preceptors is to develop collegial relationships with preceptees and provide emotional
support by listening to them to talk about their thoughts and feelings about their work.
1
The NCEE web site can be accessed at http://ncee.education.ucsb.edu/
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The Support Structures Pillar. Support structures are important in contradicting the
inertia of institutions, the tendency of teachers to teach as they were taught, and the pull
to seek comfort rather than change (Weissglass, 1998). Structures (dyads, support groups,
personal experience panels, p.43) are methods and guidelines that are used in the project.
As project participants reflect on their own experiences, listen to the experiences of
others, and examine their “life as educators”, they need to be listened to attentively about
their thoughts and feelings. This is particularly important for teachers working under the
pressure to raise test scores while trying to meet the needs of every student.
The Leadership Pillar. Leadership is defined as taking responsibility for what matters to
you. Teachers often exclude themselves and are excluded by others from the traditional
view of leadership. The project works with teachers to develop their confidence so that
they are willing to move beyond their classroom responsibilities and take additional
leadership for improving mathematics education. For RENEW Preceptors, it means
taking an important role in shaping the future of the profession by supporting beginning
teachers.
Findings
Preceptors (experienced teachers) were administered free response questionnaires at the
beginning of the project, and at the end of the first and second years of the project. The
responses to the prompts “How do you see your role in supporting beginning teachers to
become more successful in teaching mathematics?” and “What do you think are some of
the issues relating to equity and mathematics in your educational setting?” were analyzed
using the constant comparative method of analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Preceptors
agreed to a three-year commitment to the project and responses from each Preceptor were
analyzed throughout the three years of the project. This study uses a grounded theory
approach to explore the development of leaders. The stages of leadership development
describe the general direction of growth of the experienced teachers. Not all Preceptors
wrote about building relationships or the importance of taking action on equity issues;
however, the stages depicted here illustrate the conceptions of the roles that Preceptors
had for themselves at the beginning, after one year, and after the second year of the
Project.
Analyses show that the Preceptors entered the project with a number of different views of
their leadership role. Preceptors mentioned that they saw themselves as a resource, as a
friend, and as a good guide to mathematical practice. Preceptors generally saw their role
in the beginning of the Project as a resource for ideas, materials, mathematics knowledge,
and pedagogy, and also as a sounding board. Preceptors stated that offering support as a
listener and offering comfort for those difficult beginning years was a role they
envisioned. Other Preceptors saw their role as a guide to good mathematics teaching.
Overall, Preceptors saw their role as a provider or resource for learning the teaching craft.
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
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During the first year, Preceptors, usually in groups of four from each district, developed
and conducted 21 hours of professional development sessions for the beginning teachers
in their district. They also had a responsibility to visit their beginning teachers’
classrooms and/or teach model lessons in these classrooms. In addition, the Preceptors
attended six daylong professional development seminars during the year. At the end of
the year, the Preceptors’ responses for the same prompts were analyzed and a changed
view of their roles emerged. After one year, many of the Preceptors stated that the
relationship between the Preceptor (experienced teacher) and Preceptee (beginning
teacher) was very important in order to establish trust. With this trust the Preceptors
believed that the beginning teachers would ask questions freely, and more readily confide
in the Preceptor about their successes and failures in the classroom. These responses
indicate that Preceptors came to learn and understand the importance of building
relationships during their participation in Project RENEW.
After the second full year of participation in Project RENEW, Preceptors’ responses
indicated that they felt more confident in their role as a leader and as their confidence
grew, they brought equity issues into focus as leaders. Some of the Preceptors voiced
concerns that equity issues were not discussed and were not taking a prominent place on
the agendas for the Mathematics Education Seminars, and thus, have vowed to spend
more time on equity in the next year. Other Preceptors noted inequities in their schools
and districts and stated that they need to personally take up this challenge. In general, at
the end of the second year, the Preceptors’ perspective of their leadership role shifted
towards being an agent of change in their classrooms, schools, and districts.
To illustrate the leadership development of Preceptors, the responses gathered for three
consecutive years for one preceptor are shown below in Table 1. The progression from
Resource, to Relationship Builder, to Change Agent is illustrated through responses from
this Preceptor during a three-year period.
Table 1. Three-Year Progression of Leadership Development for One Preceptor
(Experienced Teacher) in Project RENEW
Beginning of First Year (Summer 2001)
I hope to help teachers improve their own mathematics abilities and perhaps look
at solving computational problems differently… Preceptor as Resource
End of First Year (Summer 2002)
…However, I also see a need to work on developing trusting relationships so that
the preceptees feel safe and ready to take risks… Preceptor as Builder of Trusting
Relationships
End of Second Year (Summer 2003)
I see my role as Preceptor as multi-faceted. Teachers need to find ways to teach
concepts that will help all students be successful.… I am particularly challenged
personally about the equity of our school program. I consistently see the advanced
math classes with fewer minority students than our population dictates. I see more
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
Page 8 of 17
minority students scoring below proficient on the state standards. I need to
address these issues personally and share them with our Math Professional
Seminars. Preceptor as Change Agent
The stages of leadership development for Preceptors in Project RENEW are general
trends that emerged from the analyses of the responses from Preceptors’ reflections on
their role as leaders over a two-year period. Preceptors’ written responses, which form
three distinct stages of leadership development, are highlighted below.
Stage 1: Preceptor as Resource
At the beginning of the project, preceptors envisioned their role as a provider of
information and strategies for teaching, i.e., a Resource for beginning teachers.
Examples of Preceptors’ written responses that indicate the Preceptors’ role as a
Resource include:
“I would like to help them build their knowledge base” (Preceptor 11)
“I plan to help beginning teachers improve their mathematics ability.” (P 31)
“I hope to model a variety of teaching styles.” (P16)
“I am now able to offer techniques” (P13)
“offer assistance” (P14)
“share my lesson ideas” (P18)
“I see myself as a resource” (P20)
Stage 2: Preceptor as Relationship Builder
Preceptors see the importance of building a trusting relationship with their beginning
teachers. Teachers suggested that such a relationship includes listening, creating a safe
environment for mathematics learning, and allowing teachers to communicate openly
about fears and successes in the classroom. Examples of Preceptors’ written comments
that illustrate the Preceptor as a Relationship Builder include the following:
“I now understand that as a Preceptee begins to trust me, they ask questions more
freely and begin telling me about strategies they have tried and how they have
succeeded or failed.” (P6)
“I am now more concerned with listening to their needs, rather than providing
activities.” (P10)
“Building trust would be my first goal.” (P12)
“My role has changed somewhat or rather my view of my role has changed in that
I see myself and others as “all in it together.” (P18)
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“My goal is not to be the one with all the answers, but to be a positive supporter
of them.” (P20)
“I see myself as forming relationships with these new math teachers. I’ve been
able to build their trust this year.” (P22)
“I have a growing understanding that my relationships are the center and most
useful part of the program to my preceptees.” (P26)
“Now I am more aware of the need to not just have “math workshops,” but to also
provide the professional and emotional support needed to ensure they remain in
the profession.” (P14)
Stage 3: Preceptor as Change Agent
During the third stage of leadership development, Preceptors see themselves as ‘Change
Agents’. Here the term change agent refers to someone in an educational environment
who takes responsibility for asking questions, introducing topics of equity and access,
and bringing to the forefront issues that generally are ignored at the district, school, and
classroom level. The analyses of the data show that as preceptors felt more confident in
their role as a leader, they brought equity issues into focus as leaders. As one preceptor
said in the written responses, “Participating in Project RENEW keeps the equity issues in
the foreground so they don’t get lost. [It’s a] gentle reminder to never forget the equity
issue when planning lessons or setting up a classroom.” Preceptors at this stage
recognize the importance of talking about equity in their seminars for beginning teachers.
Examples of Preceptors’ responses that fit into this category are:
“Also I need to bring the more humanitarianism issues up with them once a safe
trusting relationship is established.” (P16)
“I continue to be challenged by equity issues in the school setting. When I look at
and compare the ethnicity of our honors math classes to the potential retention list
it is obvious that institutional racism is till rampant. I must continue to bring up all
types of inequity, sometimes gently nudging others to examine their practice.
Other times I must not be so gentle!” (P8)
“I have always seen myself as a worker for justice, but I began this program
seeing very little connection between equity and math. I now see increasing ways
that equity affects student learning and student opportunities, especially in the
areas that are unspoken. I see my role increasing in leading students to see
themselves as strong and capable, not limited by gender or color or class. And I
am more willing to question, to speak up, to stir up the comfortable acceptance of
“the way things are.”(P26)
It should be noted that not all Preceptors wrote about building relationships or taking on
equity issues in their responses. In order to draw a clearer picture of the leadership
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Page 10 of 17
development of the Preceptors in Project RENEW, an analysis was undertaken of the
responses from the 30 Preceptors from the first Cohort of the Project. Figure 2. illustrates
the percentage of Preceptors who gave responses that were categorized as one of the three
stages (i.e., Resource, Relationship Builder, or Change Agent). The early conception of
the role of Preceptors as they began the project, that of Preceptor as Resource, diminishes
at the end of the first year. The importance of building relationships is depicted at the end
of the first year and continues to be important at the end of the second year. No
preceptors spoke of being an agent of change in the first two data collection intervals,
however at the end of the second year, issues of equity emerged as important to
approximately one-third of the Preceptors.
Figure 2. Percentage of Cohort I Preceptors in each stage of leadership development at
three data collection intervals.
Figure 3 represents the data from the second cohort of Preceptors who began their first
year of leadership during Year 3 of the project concurrent with the first cohort of
Preceptors. This figure shows that responses from the second cohort of teacher leaders
are strikingly similar to the first cohort in that many of the Preceptors from Cohort II
appear to be in the first stage of leadership development, that of Preceptor as a Resource.
Such a finding in a replication of a study, gives added weight to the reliability of the
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Page 11 of 17
outcomes found in this study of leadership and the analyses of data from the first group of
Preceptors at the onset of the Project.
Leadership Stages of Cohort II Preceptors in Project RENEW
Percentage of Preceptors (Cohort II)
100%
90%
80%
Change Agent
70%
Relationship
Builder
Resource
60%
50%
Other
40%
Incomplete Data
30%
20%
10%
0%
Start
Data Collection Interval
Figure 3. Leadership Stages that emerged from Cohort II Preceptor Responses
The data that emerged from this study leads to further research questions. How does the
leadership in Project RENEW develop? In particular, what attributes of the framework,
what activities provided in Project RENEW professional development seminars, and
what responsibilities required by the Project produce changes in leadership for these
experienced mathematics teachers?
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References
Ball, D, L., (1991). Research on teaching mathematics: Making subject matter knowledge
part of the equation. In Jere Brophy (Ed.), Advances in Research on Teaching: Teacher’s
Knowledge of Subject Matter as it Relates to Their Teaching Practice, (p 1-48). Jai
Press, Greenwich, Connecticut.
Cobb, P., Yackel, E. (1997). Constructivist, emergent, and sociocultural perspectives in
the context of developmental research. Educational psychologist, 31(3/4), 175-190.
Jaworski, P, (1997). Tensions in teachers' conceptualizations of mathematics and of
teaching. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, Chicago.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2000). Principals and Standards for
School Mathematics. Reston, VA.
U.S. Department of Education. (2000). Before It's Too Late: A Report to the Nation from
the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century
[On-line]. Available: http://www.ed.gov.inits/Math/glenn
Von Glasersfeld, E. (1988). Cognition, Construction of Knowledge and Teaching.
Scientific Reasoning Research Institute, Hasbrouck Laboratory, University of
Massachusetts, Amerherst, MA.
Weissglass, J. (1994). Changing Mathematics Teaching Means Changing Ourselves:
Implications for Professional Development. In D. Aichele, B. (Eds.), Professional
Development for Teachers of Mathematics: 1994 NCTM Yearbook (pp. 67-78). Reston:
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Weissglass, J. (1998). Ripples of Hope. Building Relationships for Educational Change.
University of California, Santa Barbara CA, 93106.
Weissglass, J. (2000). No Compromise on equity in mathematics education: Developing
an infrastructure. Changing the Faces of Mathematics. W. Secada. Reston, National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics: 67-78.
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Appendix A: Overview of the Leadership Development Strand for Experienced Teachers
This table briefly describes the progression of leadership development activities that
Preceptors in Project RENEW experienced over their three years of participation. It does
not include the strand of mathematics learning activities that were a major part of each
day. It includes a sample (but not all) of the activities used to address equity issues.
Year One
Summer Institute
(10 days)
Day One




Day Two


Day Three



Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Day Nine
Day Ten
Academic Year
Seminar 1






















“BT” indicates “Beginning Teacher”
The Pillars of the Project: Theory underlying this work and use of structures.
What is RENEW? Need for, information & questions about RENEW.
Needs of BT’s: Support Groups: What was life like for you as a beginning
teacher? Activity: group collages representing the life of a BT.
Definition of Leadership: “Leadership is taking responsibility for what is
important to you.”
Dyad: Why do you want to be part of the project? What is important to you
about students’ math learning?
Leadership as a Preceptor: Enabling BT’s to develop their own understanding &
to think more clearly about students and their math classroom.
Beliefs & Assumptions about Mathematics and Learning.
PEP & Support Groups: Experiences as a Math Learner. What is your earliest
memory of enjoying the learning of math? What was learning math like for you
in school?
Conceptions of Equity, What does equity mean to you? What are the issues in
your classroom, school, district?
Building supportive mathematics classrooms: reading & discussion.
Working with BT’s in lesson design: Following a math activity - What
instructional decisions would you make to design these lessons? How would you
assist BT’s with lesson design using this lesson as a context?
Assessment & Mathematics: Beliefs and assumptions about assessment.
Discussion and support groups.
District team discussions: organizing as a team; concerns and help needed.
Effects of racism in schools: PEP & support groups.
District team discussions: Structure of and Goals for MEPS.
RENEW and the role of a preceptor: What it is and is not.
Communicating with BT’s about mathematics.
Tetrahedral Model for Teaching & Professional Development: Obtain
Information, Reflect & Plan, Get Support, Take Action.
Updates from district teams: preliminary plans.
Effects of classism in schools: PEP & support groups.
Ideas for content of MEPS generated by preceptors.
Planning continued in district teams.
Preceptor responsibilities: discussion and ideas about visiting classrooms and
supporting BT’s.
Formulate questions for last institute day.
Responding to & getting input from preceptors regarding questions.
Business & district team planning for recruitment of preceptees, etc.
Reflecting on what you’ve learned in the institute. How do you see your role
now as a preceptor?
Support Groups: Highlights and next steps.
Sharing about MEPS: What worked well? Was unexpected? Issues & Concerns?
Support Groups: What has leadership as a preceptor been like for you?
Strategies for leading support groups.
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Seminar 2
Administrators attend
during the morning
Seminar 3
Seminars 4 and 5
2 consecutive days
 Overview of RENEW & sharing from preceptors.
 Supporting Beginning Teachers: What support do they need from Preceptors and
Administrators?
 What support do Preceptors need? What do administrators need?
 Sharing about MEPS: ideas, issues, concerns.
Joint seminar for Preceptors and the Preceptees with whom they work. An
opportunity for preceptees to meet teachers from other districts and get the “big
picture” of RENEW.
 Reflecting & Refining the Project. Reflecting on Your Role as Preceptor:
(Written) Describe strengths and what factors played a role in your success.
What are your stretches and what makes them challenging?
 Feelings of exclusion and inclusion: effects on students and on teachers.
Implications for work with preceptees and supporting leaders.
 Support Groups: Strengths and stretches as a preceptor. What holds you back?
What support do you need?
 How are classroom observations & post-conferencing being conducted?
Different models for how this can be done.
 Organizing Summer Institutes for Beginning Teachers
Year Two
Residential Retreat
(4 days)
Beginning Teacher
Institutes in Math Ed.
Academic Year
Seminar 1
Seminar 2
 Beliefs about teachers & professional growth. Reflection on their own growth
over the year – what was important for them?
 Identification of Goals for BT Institutes.
 Components of an Effective BT Institute – consistent with goals & beliefs
 Building an institute agenda: coherence of mathematics, balance of
components, shared leadership responsibilities, issues to consider.
 Support Groups: Thinking about BT institutes, what strengths do you bring as a
leader? What are your anxieties & fears?
 Working as a Team: Share with others on your team about your leadership style
and how you like to work.
 Developing relationships & building alliances with colleagues.
 Needs of English learners and implications for teaching mathematics.
 Meaningful Mathematics Tasks – What are they? Role of facilitator in making
the mathematics explicit.
 Planning sessions in institute teams.
 Next steps: sharing from institute teams, setting dates for future planning.
 Support Groups: What were highlights from this retreat? How are you feeling
about your next steps? What qualities are you bringing to your leadership in
Project RENEW next year?
Preceptors conduct 3-day summer institutes in their district or help conduct the
five-day Beginning Teacher Institute at UCSB. RENEW staff visit & make
presentations in district institutes.
 Sharing about summer institutes: what went well, was unexpected; concerns and
recommendations.
 Importance of Building Relationships With Preceptees – What was helpful in
building your relationship with your preceptees last year? What was
challenging?
 Building relationships with other colleagues – How would you characterize your
relationships with your colleagues? How would you like them to be?
 Supporting Other Leaders: Importance of and strategies for supporting
leadership.
 Sharing about MEPS: What were the needs of Preceptees that surfaced during
the MEPS?
 Needs of Preceptors: What are your needs that you would like to have addressed
in future seminars?
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
Page 15 of 17
Seminar 3
Administrators attend
during the morning




Seminar 4

Seminar 5
For Preceptees
and Preceptors
Seminar 6








Revisiting Classroom Observations: Goals, purposes, and what it looks like.
Planning & Supporting Effective Mathematics Professional Development
Developing Leadership Capacity for Mathematics Education in Districts
Sharing: One success in supporting new teachers? Challenges in supporting new
teachers? What is something you have learned in supporting new teachers?
Discussion: What are the equity issues that face Preceptees in
classrooms/schools? What activities for MEPS might be helpful in addressing
these issues? How do these activities connect to the mathematics classroom?
Support Groups: Fears about addressing equity with preceptees.
Teams: Planning and Business.
Tracking & Ability Grouping in your School or District: Building trust and
challenging preconceptions.
Hearing from Preceptees: How has RENEW made a difference for you?
Support Groups: What were key events in your life that influenced you to
become a teacher?
Appreciating Preceptors’ Leadership – evaluation findings and quotes from
Preceptees.
Sexism: How does it affect the mathematics classroom? How does it affect
your leadership?
Thinking Ahead to Year Three: Discussion in Teams.
Year Three
Summer Institute
(5 days)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Cohort I and II
Preceptors
Day 5
Cohort I and II
Preceptors
Academic Year
Seminar 1
Seminar 2
For Cohorts I & II
and Administrators
Seminar 3
Seminar 4
 Taking leadership in your school/district beyond being a preceptor.
 Leadership challenges: Consultancy for identifying challenges for individual as
a preceptor and generating strategies.
 Setting the Stage for Year 3: overview of past 2 years successes, moving toward
building alliances & supporting leadership of Cohort II Preceptors.
 Homophobia and effects on students. (Readings, discussion, support groups.)
 Planning for cohort II preceptors: developing skits for lessons learned.
 Considerations for supporting new leaders.
 Building the community of leaders in RENEW. What should be kept in mind as
the cohort II preceptors join us tomorrow?
 Support Groups: What have relationships with people of different racial
backgrounds been like? What are challenges and benefits of these relationships?
 Preceptors conduct skits on 7 Challenges of preceptoring: (Recruiting,
maintaining support, classroom observations., equity issues, planning MEPs,
conducting MEPS). Followed by small group discussion on each challenge.
 Bringing two cohorts together: Components and Models for MEPS.
 Organizing for Year Three: How do you plan to work together?
 Leading Support Groups in RENEW: Why? Assumptions and role of the leader.
 Joint district teams report on plans and how they will structure themselves to
conduct MEPS, work with preceptees, etc.
 Use and feedback on Equity in the Mathematics Classroom reflective tool. How
might preceptors use this?
 Trust and mutual respect in schools and in promoting leadership.
 Perspectives on RENEW: Panel of four tell about RENEW and effects on
teaching, leadership, classroom, district.
 Evaluation Report – What are the findings? What are we learning?
 District team discussions: Year 4 and Beyond - Getting most from district
participation in RENEW. What should the role of Cohort I Preceptors be?
 Competition: Its effects on relationships and leadership.
 Continuing the discussion about Year 4 and Beyond with preceptors.
 Celebrating Leadership: appreciations between preceptor cohorts.
Final seminar for Cohort I Preceptors (In planning phase.)
Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
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Project RENEW at http://renew.education.ucsb.edu
Page 17 of 17