•  Facilitators receive Leadership Training and Mathematics Content throughout the year

•  NC-PIMS Lead Teacher receive both Leadership Training and Courses in mathematics

•  Classroom Teachers of mathematics receive staff development in the form of 12-hour workshops throughout the school year.

The goal of all professional develop is to provide opportunities for teachers of mathematics to learn new content and to relearn familiar content in new ways to support improved student achievement. We believe it is critical that three key areas – mathematics content, pedagogical content knowledge, and pedagogy – are represented in all professional development.

Lead Teachers—Fayetteville State University—February 24, 2007

In 2005-2006, the NC-PIMS initiative provided mathematics content and curriculum leadership training for 283 Lead Teachers who teach full-time in 12 school districts serving over 180,000 PK-12 students.  As a result, during Year 5, more than 5,300 teachers of K-5 mathematics and over 900 teachers of secondary level mathematics participated in a 12-hour mathematics workshop designed by the project.  Over the project’s five-year period, K-5 Lead Teachers have received 96 hours of mathematics content instruction by completing two

NC-PIMS-designed graduate-level mathematics courses (Algebraic Reasoning and Data and Measurement). By the end of Year 5, secondary (6-12) Lead Teachers will have received 180 hours of mathematics content instruction, including four graduate-level mathematics courses—the final course to be completed in summer 2007.  The mathematical content for all courses has been selected, based on student achievement results and the inadequate preparation of teachers of mathematics.  In addition, by project end, all Lead Teachers will have: (1) received 120 hours of curriculum leadership training, which is designed to enable them to assume effective leadership roles in their school or district, and (2) provided over 60 hours of mathematics professional development to every teacher of mathematics in their districts. 

In total, the number of K-12 teachers of mathematics and other resident instructional support staff who will have received professional development is about 6,200.  In order to determine the impact of the project on the classroom practice of Lead Teachers, the mathematics Surveys of Enacted Curriculum is being administered as a pre- and post-measure to more than 80 percent of the Lead Teachers. The survey is an NSF-supported joint effort of the NC-PIMS Evaluation Team, the Wisconsin Center for Educational Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The survey measures content and content pedagogy in the classroom.  Sections of the survey also focus on previous participation in professional development and the use of assessment in classrooms. 

Professional Development for NC-PIMS Facilitators

Facilitators receive school leadership training that is based on the Concerns Based Adoption Model. In addition, their professional development includes a focus on teaching and learning for equity and a concentration on mathematics content to ensure their status of “highly qualified” by national standards. The professional development of Facilitators has had five components in Year 5: 

1. Development of four white papers with distribution via the project Web site www.ncpims.org, and submission to MSPNet: 

• Equity for All Students of Mathematics:  Aligning Beliefs and Practices
• The Promise of a Dynamic Mathematics Classroom:  Technology at Work
• Mathematics Coaching:  A Next Step in the NC-PIMS Leadership Initiative
• Ethnomathematics:  Why%3f

 
2. Participation in the development of the Mathematical Modeling course for 6-12 Facilitators, which was conducted by Dr. Ron Preston, East Carolina University; Dr. Shelby Morge, UNC Wilmington; Dr. Gabriel Lugo, UNC Wilmington; and Dr. Charles Emenaker, University of Cincinnati. [24+ contact hours]

3. A 40-hour course in Lenses on Learning for all Facilitators who had not been previously trained during the NC-PIMS initiative.  All NC-PIMS Facilitators have now had Lenses training. Certified Lenses Instructors are Ms. Carol Midgett, Ms. Joyce Hodges, and Mr. Ray Jernigan.

4. Leadership Development led by Ms. Carol Midgett.  Guiding the K-5 Facilitators through the creation of leadership course content for Lead Teachers. [18 contact hours]

5. Review and editing of the set of four white papers submitted by their colleagues—coordinated by Dr. Sid Rachlin and Ms. Carol Midgett.[12 contact hours]

Collectively these professional development activities served to enhance the teacher leadership roles of Facilitators and to prepare them for the mathematics competency they need in order to guide and coach Lead Teachers in their delivery of professional development.

Lead Teacher Professional Development

All Lead Teachers receive school leadership training and graduate level courses that are correlated to national mathematics standards and the NC Standard Course of Study. The leadership training and courses are intended to enhance teacher competencies and help teachers qualify for certification. Click here for more information about the Lead Teacher Model and the professional development that NC-PIMS Lead Teachers receive.

Academic Year Professional Development Workshops for All Teachers of Mathematics

Each teacher of mathematics in a partner district participates in 12 hours per year of mathematics professional development. These professional development programs are conducted by NC-PIMS Lead Teachers, who are teachers within their district, or by NC-PIMS Facilitators. During the spring prior to the year of implementation, each district works with their assigned NC-PIMS Facilitator to choose and schedule the professional development sessions. To date, the K-5 workshop topics have included navigating geometry, algebraic reasoning, reading for competency in number, operations and geometry. For grades 6-12, the workshop topics have included algebraic thinking and data/ measurement. An option for an additional 12-hour workshop for 6-12 in AP Statistics and in Tech Math, has also been selected by some districts.

In addition to the Professional Development of teachers, NC-PIMS provides professional development to K-8 principals through the Lenses on Learning program. For more information on Lenses on Learning please see here.