Learning to Lead Mathematics K-12 Professional Development Institutes

What Are Learning to Lead Institutes?

Learning to Lead Mathematics Professional Development Institutes, generated by work funded by the National Science Foundation, develop the skills, sensibilities, and long-term capacities of leaders working with teachers at any grade, K-12. The institutes focus on important pedagogical and facilitation skills, reflecting the most current research on adult learning and modeling a community of practice.

Participants use video to analyze authentic examples of professional development to develop a repertoire of strategies they can then apply to their own professional development. Institutes are offered in two formats to accommodate schedule needs:

• Format One: Four-day institutes at select locations across the country
• Format Two: On-site institutes with flexible dates, available for school or district teams of up to 35 people

Who Should Participate

• Leaders of mathematics professional development, K-12, including teachers working in leadership roles at their school or districtwide
• Professional development leadership teams comprised of K-12 educators and/or higher education faculty working in districts or mathematics projects

What You Learn

During these institutes, participants learn how to:

• Design mathematics professional development to achieve specific goals and purposes;
• Deepen teachers’ mathematics content knowledge;
• Manage effective mathematics discussions in professional development;
• Select and use worthwhile mathematical tasks for professional development;
• Build a repertoire of strategies and facilitation moves to achieve a quality mathematics professional development program.

What Resources Support Your Learning

Institutes are based on the Learning to Lead Mathematics Professional Development materials. Funded by the National Science Foundation, these materials have received critical acclaim in the mathematics education community.

Who Facilitates Your Learning

Cathy Carroll and Judy Mumme, nationally recognized WestEd staff members and authors of Learning to Lead Mathematics Professional Development, are available to conduct seminars. They can also prepare site coordinators to facilitate these leadership seminars with their own groups.

What the Research Says

These seminars reflect the most current research on adult learning and modeling a community of practice. Deepening teachers' content knowledge is a priority in mathematics professional development and these seminars build leaders' capacity to do so. Evaluation efforts have demonstrated that seminar participants develop an understanding of the importance of clear goals for PD, learn a variety of strategies for managing the complexities of PD, and develop a set of principles that guide decision-making in designing and implementing effective mathematics PD.

What Participants Report

"Making the decisions we make as facilitators explicit through the medium of watching other facilitators is a powerful way to reassess our own thought processes in developing our PD." - Coach, New York, NY

"I learned the importance of having a clear purpose/goal in mind when planning PD instead of just planning a task. Knowing my purpose will allow me to make the appropriate moves in my facilitation. I think I tend to let discussions take the group off task so my goal for my participants is not met." - PD Leader, Denver, CO

Format and Cost

Learning to Lead Mathematics Professional Development Institutes are offered in two formats to accommodate your scheduling needs.

Format One: National Institutes

We hold four-day institutes at select locations across the country. For more information on our upcoming institutes, download our flyer.

Format Two: On-Site Institutes Hosted by Your Organization

On-site institutes with flexible dates are available for school or district teams of up to 35 people. The on-site institutes take place over six days, in three two-day seminars. The seminars are ideally scheduled over the period of three to four months to allow participants an opportunity to implement mathematics professional development in their own schools or districts between sessions. The on-site institutes, including all accompanying materials and facilitator travel and expenses, cost $20,000 per site, for up to 35 participants.

Contact Information

Cathy Carroll
650.381.6422
ccarrol@wested.org