SummerMath for Teachers (SMT) programs for summer 2003

For the summer of 2003, SMT will offer two summer institutes, one for teachers of grades K to 8 and one for teachers of grades 7 to 12. Both programs open with dinner on Sunday night July 27 and end after lunch on August 8. The $1200 fee includes room, board, and four graduate credits in mathematics education awarded by Mount Holyoke College.

The mathematical content of the K- 8 institute will be Examining Features of Shape. Participants examine aspects of 2D and 3D shapes, develop geometric vocabulary, and explore both definitions and properties of geometric objects. The seminar includes a study of angle, similarity, congruence, and the relationships between 3D objects and their 2D representations.

Participants in the 7 – 12 institute, Implementing Inquiry Based Instruction, will look at rational number; patterns of growth; qualitative graphing; the links between problem situations, graphs, and equations; and topics in field of geometry and trigonometry.

Our philosophy is one of active engagement; the goals of the program:

· To provide teachers with the opportunity to revisit the mathematical concepts in their curriculum through a problem solving and inquiry approach.

· To provide a model of a classroom predicated on the belief that people learn by constructing their own meaning and to enact the pedagogical techniques inherent in such a classroom.

· To enable teachers to create lessons and classroom structures which provide this model of constructivist instruction for their own students.

These goals are not addressed separately but are interconnected. For instance, math sessions led by the staff not only provide opportunities for teachers to expand their mathematical understandings but also serve as a context for reflections on learning and teaching. The mathematical ideas explored in the problem-solving sessions of the institute are directly related to the mathematics content of participating teachers' curriculum.

Thus the mathematics lessons serve a dual role. They are opportunities to engage in mathematical ideas and grist for reflection on the development of a new teaching practice. Exploring the links between the mathematical ideas examined in the program and the pedagogical practices employed in the program and the newly published NCTM Principles and Standards of School Mathematics are an integral part of the program.

The content may appear familiar but the mathematical approaches are designed to widen teachers' horizons and deepen their understandings. Problems are solved by using calculators, computers, manipulatives, diagrams, and by building models. Examining the connections among multiple solutions to the same problem often illuminates the mathematical principle that is underlying the work in a way that highlights the more formal meanings. Many teachers leave the program indicating that they have learned to look at familiar topics in new ways.

In addition, the program incorporates the use of writing as a tool for learning. Journal writing in which participants reflect on how their ideas about mathematics, about learning mathematics, and about the process of learning mathematics is built into the institute. Finally, the institute also includes activities which focus on examining the thinking of students through both video and print cases, as well as samples of student work.

Finally, the program concludes with activities designed to support teachers as they return to their classrooms. There are sessions devoted to learning techniques to rewrite text problems to make them more open to student investigation, sessions focused on examining and analyzing some of the recently published curriculum (Investigations, Everyday Math, CMP, IMP, Core-Plus, etc.) and discussions about how to communicate the goals of your math class to students, teachers, and parents.

You can read more about the SummerMath for Teachers program in Focus, the journal of the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education (vol. 7, no 1, 2000) or check their website for an expanded version of the article: (www.enc.org/focus/change/).

In addition to the SMT institutes for classroom teachers, we also offer institutes for staff developers, teacher leaders, and others who provide professional development in mathematics education. For information on the leadership institute inquire about the Developing Mathematical Ideas Leadership program or check www.edc.org/LTT/CDT/DMIcur.html

For more information on any of these programs or to request an application form:

Email: SMT-DMIinfo@mtholyoke.edu

Call: (413) 538-2063

Fax; (413) 538 2002

Write: SummerMath for Teachers

1 Woodbridge Street

Mount Holyoke College

South Hadley, MA 01075-1441