MSP News: Math Teacher Preparation
April 29, 2010
NEWS IN BRIEF1. NEW IN LIBRARY
A. "Breaking the Cycle: An International Comparison of U.S. Mathematics Teacher Preparation," The Center for Research In Math And Science Education Michigan State University, 2010.
B. "Improving State Need Assessments of Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers: Challenges, Possibilities, and Recommendations," Michael B. Allen, Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, March 2010.
C. "The Cost of New Higher Quality Assessments: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Potential Costs for Future State Assessments," Barry Topol, John Olson, Ed Roeber, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, 2010.
2. PROJECT NEWS
A. MSP-KMD: UPDATED Knowledge Reviews
The MSP-Knowledge Management and Dissemination (KMD) project announces the publication of updated Knowledge Reviews on developing and supporting teacher leaders. See details below.
B. MSP-KMD: Collaboration with MSP projects to present the work of the MSP program. See details below.
C. Promoting Institutional Change to Strengthen Science Teacher Preparation: Change in Higher Education at TLC Retreat, Jan. 2010
D. The Science & Mathematics Teacher Imperative: Analytic Framework receives a supplemental grant from NSF
E. The Science & Mathematics Teacher Imperative: SMTI2010 National Conference, June 9-11, 2010
Registration is now Open. All APLU institutions invited to attend.
DETAILS BELOW
1. NEW IN LIBRARY
A. "Breaking the Cycle: An International Comparison of U.S. Mathematics Teacher Preparation," The Center for Research In Math And Science Education Michigan State University, 2010.
"The Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) examined teacher preparation in 16 countries looking at how primary level and middle school level teachers of mathematics were trained. The study examined the course taking and practical experiences provided by teacher preparation programs at colleges, universities and normal schools. The study reveals that middle school mathematics teacher preparation is not up to the task. U.S. future teachers find themselves, straddling the divide between the successful and the unsuccessful, leaving the U.S. with a national choice of which way to go. The findings of TEDS-M additionally revealed that the preparation of elementary teachers to teach mathematics was comparatively somewhat better as the U.S. found itself in the middle of the international distribution.
U.S. future teachers are getting weak training mathematically, and are just not prepared to teach the demanding mathematics curriculum we need especially for middle schools if we hope to compete internationally. It is important for us as a nation to understand that teacher preparation programs are critical, not only for future teachers, but also for the children they will be teaching. It is quite striking that the performance of the future teachers in terms of their mathematics content knowledge at both levels parallels so closely that of the students they teach."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Professional Development
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20671
B. "Improving State Need Assessments of Secondary Science and Mathematics Teachers: Challenges, Possibilities, and Recommendations," Michael B. Allen, Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, March 2010.
"Accompanying the growing call of our nation's political, business, and education leaders to strengthen the science and mathematics skills of our nation's children is the recognition that this will not be possible unless we have a sufficient number of well-qualified and effective K-12 science and mathematics teachers. In response, state and university leaders are making commitments to increase significantly the number of science and mathematics teachers they produce, particularly at the secondary level. Few, however, have made these commitments on the basis of a careful assessment of the adequacy of the current science and mathematics teacher workforce.
It is precisely the goal of this report to help state and university leaders develop better assessments of the need for secondary school science and mathematics teachers. The report is part of a larger effort by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities - the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI) - to support the efforts of its member institutions to strengthen science and mathematics teacher preparation. Especially in an era of declining state resources and retrenched university budgets, a thorough and reliable assessment of the need for science and mathematics teachers is imperative if states and institutions are to respond appropriately and cost-effectively."
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Professional Development
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20663
C. "The Cost of New Higher Quality Assessments: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Potential Costs for Future State Assessments," Barry Topol, John Olson, Ed Roeber, Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, 2010.
The Race to the Top (RTTT) funding for common state assessments and the development of common core standards represent important initiatives in upgrading and improving the educational system in the U.S. Statements by President Barack Obama and the U.S. Department of Education signal a commitment to including more performance-oriented assessments that engage students in more ambitious intellectual projects in new systems to be created by states and consortia of states. However, without any systemic changes in the way assessments are procured, developed, and administered, the cost of new, innovative assessments could exceed the cost of current assessments by a significant amount; and, if these costs are not anticipated and controlled, they could spell the end of such innovative approaches to assessment.
The purpose of this study was to: 1) determine the amount of money a typical state would incur to implement a high-quality assessment (HQA) system including performance components in comparison to the amount currently being spent on their state assessment, and 2) determine if various cost-reduction strategies could be implemented to yield an HQA at a price similar to what a state pays today for its high stakes assessment. The data from the study can be used to inform states, policymakers, and other key decision makers how much new HQA systems could cost under various conditions and what the impact of some cost-mitigation strategies might be.
MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20672
2. PROJECT NEWS
A. MSP-KMD: UPDATED Knowledge Reviews
The MSP-Knowledge Management and Dissemination (KMD) project announces the publication of updated Knowledge Reviews on developing and supporting teacher leaders. The Knowledge Reviews provide guidance to those who design or lead teacher leadership programs, by highlighting practice-based insights and summaries of empirical research on ten topics in teacher leadership. The original set of Knowledge Reviews has been updated to incorporate recently published research and additional insights from MSP project leaders. Visit the web site of MSP-KMD to see more: http://mspkmd.net/blasts/tl.php
MSPnet Location: RESOURCES>>MSP Toolbox
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/15334
B. MSP-KMD: Collaboration with MSP projects to present the work of the MSP program
Does your project plan to submit a proposal to share the work of your MSP with one or more science or mathematics professional societies? The MSP Knowledge Management and Dissemination (MSP-KMD) project is interested in collaborating with MSP projects on presentations about the work of the NSF MSP program.
While we're happy to share lessons learned from the MSP program with science/mathematics education societies (e.g., NCTM and NSTA), we're particularly interested in reaching the science/mathematics professional societies such as MAA and ACS. If your project would consider including lessons synthesized from the work of the broader MSP community in your presentation(s), please e-mail the following information to msp-kmd@mspkmd.net for each presentation:
(1) the name of the conference;
(2) location of the conference;
(3) conference date; and
(4) the due date for the proposal.
MSPnet Location: CALENDAR>>Announcements
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/announce/show/id-138
C. Promoting Institutional Change to Strengthen Science Teacher Preparation: Change in Higher Education at TLC Retreat, Jan. 2010
Change in Higher Education was the main topic of discussion at the second national meeting of The Leadership Collaborative (TLC) held on January 6-8, 2010. Ann Austin, a national expert on change in higher education and a professor at Michigan State University, stressed the importance of finding leaders throughout the institution and supporting those leaders, having the involvement of senior leadership, and taking the time to define a clear and compelling vision for the institution that helps drive the change process forward. During the meeting, participants from 24 institutions, including team leaders and 15 provosts, discussed different policies and reward structures in place at their universities for faculty engaged in STEM teaching and STEM education research. The Collaborative consists of 26 SMTI institutions to experiment with approaches and university policies to enhance institutional priority of science and mathematics teacher preparation. Results from this NSF MSP/RETA will be shared across APLU and other institutions.
MSPnet Location: SHOWCASE
http://smti.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20654
D. The Science & Mathematics Teacher Imperative: Analytic Framework receives a supplemental grant from NSF
APLU has received an NSF RETA Supplement grant for almost $300,000 for the further development of the Analytic Framework (AF) which includes developing an on-line survey tool based on the AF; field-testing the AF with selected institutions during late Spring and Summer; and revising the AF. An additional group of SMTI institutions will then complete the revised AF and upload program data and evidence of program impact and success into a database to share with other institutions in late Fall. The AF is organized across the recognized continuum of teacher preparation and development: recruitment, preparation (including pedagogical and content-knowledge and clinical/field experiences), induction and mentoring of beginning teachers, and professional development. Important cross-cutting elements, such as school partnerships, use of technology, program evaluation and research, are embedded into the framework.
MSPnet Location: SHOWCASE
http://smti.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20648
E. The Science & Mathematics Teacher Imperative: SMTI2010 National Conference, June 9-11, 2010
Registration is now Open. All APLU institutions invited to attend.
The Science & Mathematics Teacher Imperative (SMTI) is a collaboration of public university leaders working to catalyze action across sectors-state and federal governments, the business community, the K-12 community, and others--to adequately prepare teachers to teach science and mathematics in the 21st century.
MSPnet Location: SHOWCASE
http://smti.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20650