Secondary Teacher Preparation in MathematicsInstitute for Mathematics and Education

Tucson, ArizonaMarch 7 – 8, 2008

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About Math for America

• Mission:To improve the quality of mathematics education in our nation’s public schools by recruiting, training, and retaining highly qualified mathematics teachers.

• Two Programs:– MƒA Fellowship– MƒA Master Teacher Program

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MƒA Fellowship

Goals:

• Increase the desirability of teaching as a career choice.

• Recruit individuals with strong mathematics backgrounds into teaching, train them to be excellent teachers, retain them by providing appropriate professional and financial support.

• Create a corps of outstanding mathematics teachers.

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MƒA FellowshipCreating a Corps• Year 1: Preparation

– Full tuition scholarship to a full-time graduate education program at a Partner University leading to a master’s in education

– Student teaching experience– $28,000 MƒA stipend– Professional development and Corps activities

• Years 2 - 5: Teaching– Position as secondary school math teacher in New York

City– New York City teacher’s salary + MƒA stipends totaling

$62,000 over four years– Mentoring, coaching and support services – Professional development and Corps activities

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Two Ways of Addressing the Issue of Mathematical Knowledge

• MƒA Fellowships increase the mathematical knowledge of the teaching pool by making teaching a more attractive option to those with strong math proficiency. This means a focus on recruitment, screening and selection.

• Programming is focused on improving Fellows’ mathematical knowledge and pedagogical practices.

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Recruitment, Screening, and Selection

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Recruit Nationally

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Recruit Nationally

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Eligibility Requirements

• Bachelor's degree with substantial coursework in mathematics. A minimum of 18 credits in math courses at the Calculus level or higher are required.

• Candidates must be able to make a five year commitment to the MƒA Fellowship Program.

• Candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S.

• Individuals currently teaching, are certified to teach, or who have completed a graduate education degree program are not eligible.

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Screening and Selection

• Content Knowledge Test (PRAXIS II)

• On-line application, including letters of recommendation, transcripts, and a personal statement

• Interview

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On-Line Application -Essay

A student is given the following problem:

Sketch a graph of height versus time for the following scenario: The valve-stem on the wheel of a bike as the bike moves forward.

The student’s response to the problem is shown below.

a) Using your knowledge of mathematics, determine what misconceptions are reflected in the student’s response. b) Using your knowledge of mathematics, identify what mathematical knowledge the student needs in order to understand why the response is incorrect. c) What are the key features of the “correct” graph?

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Screening and Selection - Interview

• Invited candidates are interviewed by a team of three - mathematician, mathematics educator, and community stakeholder

• Rubric – “Do the candidates know mathematics, are they passionate about the subject, do they have the personality traits needed to be an effective teacher?”

• Debate between members of the screening and selection community: What does it mean to know mathematics?

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Sample Interview Questions

• “Tell me everything you know about the square root of two.”

• “Why can’t you divide by zero?”

• “Why is a number raised to the zero power one? What about zero raised to the zero power?”

• “If you had to put together a curriculum, what order would you teach the following topics: exponentials, higher order polynomials, linear functions, quadratics?”

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The Result of Screening and SelectionMƒA Fellows

• MƒA Fellows: Mean SAT-V: 654, Mean SAT-M: 726

• According to an ETS report, SAT-V for teachers certified in mathematics is 544. SAT-M for teachers certified in mathematics 597

• MƒA Fellows: Average number of math courses taken pre-service: 18.1

• According to the US Department of Education, the average number of math courses taken by “highly qualified” middle school math teachers: 8.8; high school teachers: 13.1

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Programming

• Monthly seminars lead by outside experts and members of the Math for America community

• Ongoing classroom observations by experienced math educators

• Social and network building opportunities

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Looking Ahead – A National Corps

• New York City Fellowship program – a model for expansion– MƒA San Diego and MƒA Los Angeles admit

first cohort of Fellows, spring 2008.

– Creation of National Science Foundation Teaching Fellowship to substantially increase the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers.

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MƒA Expansion

Core components of all MƒA Fellowship programs:– Applicants must exhibit a strong knowledge of

mathematics

– Tuition free university training to develop pedagogical skills and deeper content knowledge

– Teacher driven mentoring and professional development

– Generous incentive system to increase the number of mathematically talented people choosing teaching as a career

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MƒA Expansion

• MƒA with partners sites develop programs that reflect community needs.

• Benefits received by partner sites include:– Programmatic support– Seed funding– Existing MƒA website and marketing efforts– Membership in a growing community of math

teachers, educators, and advocates.

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Math for America

Creating a national corps of teachers who know and love math.