By providing comprehensive, long-term strategies and solutions, Math Matters can significantly improve your mathematics program. Our strategies not only enable students to succeed in the current standards-based classroom, but to continue to thrive in mathematics into the future.
Math Matters is made up of a series of immersive professional development programs, which include workshops, follow-up training, and ongoing mentoring. We specialize in individualized attention by providing a regional coordinator for every 8-10 peer coaches. Our staff also facilitates and assists with professional growth sessions, including classroom visits and development of evaluation processes.
We concentrate on three areas:
- Learning
Participants learn adult-level mathematics and effective classroom strategies, and practice these in classroom setting with their colleagues.
- Development
Participants develop standards-based lessons and content strategies for the classroom, including transitioning current content into standards-based material.
- Continued Success
Cognitive coaches support the teachers all the way through the process, including follow-up training that continues to refine their expertise in the subsequent years.
Through these areas, teachers and administrators gain:
- Deep understanding of mathematics content
- The ability to understand, plan, and assess student progress toward meeting mathematics standards
- Improved content, management, and instructional strategies to better address the needs of all students
- Support skills in content specific leadership and observation
- Opportunities to develop the practice of reflection, collaboration, and coaching
- Expertise in transitioning teachers' mathematics content knowledge to standards-based content for students in the areas of computational skills, conceptual understanding, and mathematical reasoning
Costs vary depending on the length of the contract for services. A three-year program minimum commitment by the district is strongly recommended. Please contact Tom Lester, Project Director, for more information.
The three-year Math Matters program includes the following:
- Academy & Practicum (9-day intensive course)
- Learning adult level mathematics
- Full-immersion in classroom management strategies
- Development of standards-based lessons and content strategies
- Cognitive coaching in content area
- Application of learning in a classroom setting
Follow-Up Sessions (6 days, interspersed throughout the year)
- Continued learning of mathematics
- Assisting teachers in transitioning the adult math content to standards-based classroom material
- Cognitive coaching in content area
- Management and content strategies
- Intervention/acceleration strategies
- Weekly classroom visits with coaching
Ongoing Professional Development (4-6 days, interspersed in the following years)
- Increasing leadership capacity
- Deepening the understanding of Mathematics
- Intervention/acceleration ideas
- Teaching strategies
- Cognitive coaching in mathematics and pedagogy
Cost:
For a district that is considering long-term professional development in mathematics, the present cost of Math Matters services, which includes adult-level mathematics, standards based mathemtics for the classroom, cognitive coaching, lesson study, case study, assessment and other expertise is $45,000 for a group of 30 teachers and administrators for the first year.
Thus for 15 days of service, the district pays $100/day/teacher or administrator.
The cost includes travel and personnel expenses. It is assumed that the district provides facilities.
|
