The Camden County, Edenton-Chowan, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, Gates County, and Hyde County public school systems in northeast North Carolina collaborate with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, East Carolina University, and Elizabeth City State University in this teacher enhancement project. The project targets all 378 K-8 teachers of mathematics in the participating districts, each for 196-304 hours of professional development in summer workshops and academic-year sessions, linked with classroom implementation of exemplary instructional materials in mathematics. The effort is driven by student needs, national standards, state standards and new requirements for graduation, and North Carolina's new ABC's Program which places accountability for student achievement at the building level, with incentives and sanctions.
Submitted under the guidelines for Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement, Grades K-8, MIPS seeks to (1) implement consistent and proven mathematics curricula that promote problem solving and inquiry in the teaching and learning of mathematics, K-8; (2) implement instructional models that are student-centered and focus on quality work; (3) promote and effect an articulated mathematics curriculum that is well integrated with district classroom instruction; and (4) develop sustainable interactions among the collaborating districts, along with the necessary support and teacher leaders to institutionalize the changes made in mathematics instruction, K-8.
The districts initially focus the elementary teacher enhancement and curricular components on helping teachers learn and teach statistics through the NSF-funded Teach-Stat. Elementary teachers then participate in further enhancement centered around children's mathematical development, leadership, and implementation of exemplary instructional materials, especially Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Everyday Mathematics. Middle grades efforts center around implementation of the Connected Mathematics Program.
