Making Math a Priority: The State's Strides

Sometimes we get so caught up with the here and now that we perhaps forget – temporarily maybe – that there’s a lot more at stake in the long run than the national debt and post-crisis recovery.

In the long run, there is no sustainable way to create good jobs and grow the economy without innovation in science and technology. There is widespread concern that America is starting to lag behind developing economies led by Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) – which are projected to exceed the U.S. gross domestic product by 2015, according to the BRIC’s Social-Economic Development Annual Report for 2011 (Blue Book).

A report by the National Academies in September 2010 stated that a whopping 51 percent of U.S. patents in 2009 were awarded to non-U.S. companies. The report also stated that from 1996 to 1999, 157 new drugs were approved in the U.S. Just 10 years later, that number dropped to 74.  

The root of the problem does not lie with inadequate protectionist measures. To the contrary, increasing domestic demand in developing economies has increased the market size for U.S. companies.

The problem lies with math and science education in schools. The World Economic Forum currently ranks the U.S. 48th out of 133 developed and developing economies in the quality of its science and math education.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in 2009, only 12 percent of bachelor’s degrees in Connecticut were in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, math), compared to an equally low 15 percent nationwide.

The ACT College Readiness Benchmark Report (Graduating Class of 2010) stated that only 39 percent of Connecticut’s students met all four national ACT College Readiness Benchmark Scores (English composition, algebra, social science, biology).

That’s why in an environment of budget cuts and higher taxes, a Connecticut Department of Higher Education grant to enhance the quality of math instruction in schools is the sort of investment that public schools need.

Thanks to a one-year grant totaling $380,000, the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut has launched the new Math Leadership Academy, which will train 27 teachers in four school districts – including Manchester and Vernon – in improving math education in grades six through 12.

The graduate coursework for teachers, which consists of 12 credits towards a master’s program or a six-year certification, began in July and will culminate in April 2012. The core content will focus on math instruction, pedagogy, and algebraic reasoning.

“The overall goal is to instill this high-powered group of teachers with math leadership skills so that they can implement collaborative and research-based instruction, as well as mentor others teachers,” Mary Truxaw, Ph.D., co-director at the Math Leadership Academy at UConn, told Patch.

Truxaw said the program’s goals are: 

• To enable participating teachers to create ways for students to think more deeply about proportional reasoning.
• Examine the language related to math in ways that goes beyond the use of terminology, so as to make mathematical justifications.
• Enable teachers to deepen students’ conceptual understanding so that they don’t learn by just rote procedure.
• Enable teachers to use collaborative instruction techniques to help students make more sense out of math.

When asked about metrics and benchmarks for the grant, Truxaw said there are several benchmarks in place for teachers, but the grant does not call for testing students.

Melissa Barnett, a middle school math teacher in the Vernon Public School system, was selected for the highly competitive program, which kicked off this month.

“The program so far has been outstanding. I’ve learnt so many different ways to engage students even more,” she said. “The whole approach is to focus more on application and exploration of math by students, rather than just rote learning.”

Jonathan Bauer, another participant, is a math trainer in the Manchester school district, where he works with teachers from grades K-9.

“We had two courses this summer and I took away a lot. They had us thinking about proportional reasoning and algebraic thinking in ways I hadn’t thought of before,” he said.

Bauer said the program would help him help teachers, who in turn would be able to help their students overcome math phobia.

“Among the many things I took away from the courses are the different ways to help students make connections between equations, graphs, tables and the whole story,” he said.

“If we do this well, we’ll have a nice collaborative group that will be a resource for one another to work together on problems and improve their practice,” Megan Staples, Ph.D., a Neag math educator and co-director of the project, said in a press release dated July 25.

“We define leadership a little bit more broadly, not just as formal leadership,” Staples said. “Teachers are taking on leadership roles on committees in collaborative relationships.”

She explained that on a committee in a school setting with a flat hierarchy, teachers are peers but could also be a point person to facilitate and make recommendations.

“The districts were very excited that this was an aspect. They told us, ‘Yes, we need that,’” she said.

Truxaw hoped the grant would be extended beyond a year, despite state budget constraints. She pointed out that due to budgetary problems, many instructor positions were eliminated or downsized, so teachers will now have to step into those roles as well.

“In this economy, the role of a math teacher as a leader has to be redefined. Teachers may also need to become math coaches and math curriculum instructors,” she said.

“The grant is well-spent money. It goes toward tuition fees and teachers don’t get a stipend. It’s quite a bargain because the beneficiaries are so many, not just these teachers,” she said.

Corinne Cunningham of Suffield said she was excited that her daughters’ math instructor was selected into the program.

Her children, aged 7 and 10, are tutored privately by Barnett.

“I think it’s awesome and I’m very excited that Melissa will be using these new techniques when teaching my kids,” she said. “The state has made an investment in our future. If our children learn, we all benefit from this."