Systemic Reform of Mathematics 6-12 for Rural Virginia (SRMRV), a five-year project designed to encourage and implement systemic change in the high schools and middle schools of five school divisions in rural Virginia, is a partnership between Virginia Tech and the public schools of Buckingham County, Craig County, Montgomery County, Nottoway County, and Roanoke City.
Each of the 174 mathematics teachers in the participating schools engages in professional development built around nationally developed, cutting-edge, NSF-funded instructional material that is to replace traditional textbooks. The project's major objective is to provide all 174 mathematics teachers with the background and resources to achieve whole-school reform in mathematics through the implementation of a mathematically integrated, problem-solving-based curriculum.
As a Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement in Mathematics, Grades 7-12, project, the professional development in SRMRV has a focus on strengthening content and renewing pedagogy. Twelve mathematics teachers in one high school, where the teachers have already engaged in significant professional development, receive 131 hours of enhancement. Participants who teach both middle and high school mathematics receive 268 hours of professional development. All other middle and high school mathematics teachers receive 173 hours.
The teacher enhancement curriculum is structured around: ten-day (two-week) summer workshops; academic-year experiences that carry credit as graduate courses; five-day (one-week) summer workshops that follow the two-week summer workshops and intervening graduate courses; and two-hour, follow-up, academic-year sessions. The project also incorporates a small research component on the use of technology in the classroom.
Quantitative and qualitative methodologies will capture the various phases of technology use, addressing such questions as:
* What aspects of technology are important?
* How does tech nology interact with curriculum?
* How do students use technology?
* How do teachers use technology?
Cost-sharing, which is approximately 158% of the NSF-request, is derived from the participating school divisions and Virginia Tech.
