Math in the Middle
What are we learning about
rural mathematics education?
Ruth Heaton and Jim Lewis
University of Nebraska – Lincoln
M2 Goal
Invest in high-quality teachers
* To improve K-12 student achievement in
mathematics and to significantly reduce achievement
gaps in the mathematical performance of diverse student
populations.
M2 Partnership Vision
• Create and sustain a University, Educational Service
Unit (ESU), Local School District partnership
• Educate and support teams of outstanding middle
level (Grades 5 – 8) mathematics teachers who will
become intellectual leaders in their schools, districts,
and ESUs.
• Provide evidence-based contributions to research
on learning, teaching, and professional
development.
• Place a special focus on rural teachers, schools,
and districts.
Rural needs assessment
• The top five priorities for the rural educators we
surveyed are:
(1) expanding opportunities for collaboration and
resource sharing,
(2) increasing student engagement with
learning,
(3) creating professional learning communities,
(4) understanding student learning skills and
abilities, and
(5) deepening teacher knowledge of their
content area.
M2 teachers are spread across Nebraska
Reaching rural teachers
with M2 courses
• Academic Year Courses
– Blackboard
– Polycom
– Breeze
– PC NoteTaker
– Increased Instructional Support
– Additional offerings?
Reaching rural teachers
with M2 courses
• Bringing Professional Development
Opportunities to Rural Nebraska
– Courses at ESU 13 in Scottsbluff
• Math 800T – Summer 2005
• 1-Day Mathematics Workshop – February 2006
• Math 802T – Summer 2006
– How do we finance similar opportunities?
Math in the Middle
Research Agenda
What are the capabilities of teachers to translate
the mathematical knowledge and habits of mind
acquired through the professional development
opportunities of M2 into measurable changes in
teaching practice?
To what extent do observable changes in
mathematics teaching practice translate into
measurable improvement in student
performance?
Understanding The Rural
Context
• 64 of 96 Math in the Middle Participants
are teaching in rural areas of Nebraska
• 64 rural Math in the Middle Participants
teach in 45 different school districts and 51
different schools in Nebraska
Of 64 Rural Math in the Middle
Participants:
• 26 teach in towns of less than 1,000
• 32 teach in towns between 1,000-15,000
• 6 teach in towns of more than 15,000
Assessing Student
Achievement
• the research challenge created by Nebraska’s
state assessment system
• using local assessments, standardized tests,
and our own assessment
• a qualitative study of the nature of middle school
student responses to alternative assessment
items requiring reasoning and communication
Talking to Teachers
• A study study of the professional lives of rural
Math in the Middle participants, funded by
Nebraska Rural Initiative, Sandy Scofield, UNL.
- relationship to colleagues and the community
- the advantages and tensions of teaching in a
small school
- extracurricular school related responsibilities
- out of school responsibilities
Asking about Leadership and
Instructional Improvement
Survey, Jim Spillane, Northwestern University
- sources of instructional leadership
- network within M2 and statewide
- activities and opinions related to school leadership in
instructional improvement, expertise in mathematics
leadership and the conditions associated with each
- people, resources and activities teachers seek out to
gain information and advice related to teaching in
general and math specifically
Classroom Observations
What does it look like as M2 teachers
translate mathematics learning in the
Institute into classroom practice?
How do teachers translate the idea of mathematical
habits of mind as developed in the Institute into their
work with middle school students?
How does diversity among students impact
the improvement of mathematics education?
What are the capacities of M2 teachers working
with diverse populations to translate what they
are learning into classroom practice?
What does a M2 teacher’s classroom practice
look like when diversity is envisioned as an
asset rather than as a deficiency?
How is school capacity built in settings
where more than one M2 teacher is in a
school?
How do M2 teachers interact both with each other and
with other (non-M2) teachers in their school
communities?
What is the position of M2 teachers in their school
communities as a whole, in terms of leadership, decision
making, and classroom practice?
18 teachers (six from each cohort) plus any
M2 colleagues in the same school
3 school clusters of M2 teachers
Knowledge Generated by
Teachers
2
M
• Using Math Vocabulary Building to
Increase Problem Solving Abilities in a 5th
Grade Classroom
• The Effect of Student Journals and Group
Work on Students’ Attitudes in Math
• Ability Perceptions of ‘Tracked’ vs.
‘Untracked’ Seventh Grade Math Students
• Greater Understanding Through Improved
Homework Justifications
• The Effects of Self-Assessment on
Learning
• Self-Directed Learning in the Middle
School Classroom
• How to Better Prepare for Assessment and
Create a More Technologically Advanced
Classroom
• Daily Problem Solving Warm-Ups: Harboring
Mathematical Thinking in the Middle School
Classroom
• Departmentalization in the 5th Grade Classroom:
Re-thinking the Elementary School Model
• Bad Medicine: Homework or Headache:
Responsibility and Accountability for Middle
Level Mathematics Students
• The Effects of Teaching Problem Solving
Strategies to Low Achieving Students
• Factors that Influence Mathematics Attitudes
• The Effect of Staff Development on Teacher
Practice
• Math Anxiety: What Can Teachers Do to Help
Their Students Overcome the Feeling?
• Cooperative Learning Groups in the Eighth
Grade Math Classroom
• An In-Depth Study of Student Engagement
• Motivating Middle School Students
An Analysis of the Action
Research Projects
What does it mean to the teachers to
translate learning in the Institute into
classroom practice?
What insights do these studies offer into the
nature of teacher learning and change?