 |
|
|
|
|
published:
|
11/16/2001
|
|
posted to site:
|
11/16/2001
|
Colorado Mathematics Middle School Teacher Enhancement Project
(COMMSTEP)
Fran Berry, Principal Investigator/Project Director
Project Activities - Overview
The four-and-one-half year Colorado Mathematics Middle School Teacher Enhancement Project (COMMSTEP) was funded to support 330 teachers in 44 Colorado schools for professional development and implementation of standards-based instruction and assessment through the use of exemplary NSF-funded middle school Mathematics instructional materials. This Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement in Mathematics, Grades 7-12, project builds upon the successful work of the Colorado Statewide Systemic Initiative and TEAM 2000, a high school Teacher enhancement project. To date COMMSTEP has supported over 440 teachers.
Major components on the program include (1) examination and selection of materials, choosing from among Connected Mathematics Program (CMP), MathScape: Seeing and Thinking Mathematically and Mathematics in Context; (2) annual summer institutes; (3) monthly or quarterly workshops; and (4) monthly meetings with COMMSTEP teacher mentors.
Over the life of the project, the entire mathematics faculties in partnering middle schools participate in COMMSTEP. Sixth-grade teachers attend a two-week summer institute followed by nine monthly school-year workshops, and fully implement their school's chosen instructional materials during their first year if participation. Seventh- and eighth-grade teachers phase in their school's materials over a two-year period. These teachers attend one-week summer institutes followed by four quarterly school-year workshops for two years. All middle grades teachers receive two years of workshop and mentor support.
In addition to the required LSC core evaluation, the project collects two other important kinds of data: (1) student achievement data and (2) data that describe district capacity to support high quality mathematics curriculum and teaching (e.g., district capacity to support reform-oriented classroom practices), comparing COMMSTEP schools/districts with other school districts.
Summary of major activities and accomplishments
COMMSTEP conducts monthly workshops throughout the school year. Workshops are conducted on Thursday and repeated the following Saturday. Cohort 1 teachers began summer 1999, Cohort 2 teachers began summer 2000, and Cohort 3 teachers began summer 2001.
|
Date |
# Tchrs |
Grades |
Cohort |
Focus |
|
Thursday, November 16, 2000 |
72 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
# Sense & NCTM PSSM |
|
Saturday, November 18, 2000 |
42 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
# Sense & NCTM PSSM |
|
Thursday, December 7, 2000 |
30 |
6 |
2 |
Rational Number Concepts |
|
Saturday, December 9, 2000 |
17 |
6 |
2 |
Rational Number Concepts |
|
Thursday, January 18, 2001 |
23 |
6 |
2 |
Rat. Number Computation |
|
Saturday, January 20, 2001 |
21 |
6 |
2 |
Rat. Number Computation |
|
Thursday, January 25, 2001 |
51 |
6, 7 & 8 |
1 |
2-D Geom & NCTM PSSM |
|
Saturday, January 27, 2001 |
11 |
6, 7 & 8 |
1 |
2-D Geom & NCTM PSSM |
|
Thursday, February 8, 2001 |
58 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Algebra & Questioning |
|
Saturday, February 10, 2001 |
43 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Algebra & Questioning |
|
Thursday, March 8, 2001 |
57 |
6, 7 & 8 |
1 |
#,Similarity, Function & Tech |
|
Saturday, March 10, 2001 |
12 |
6, 7 & 8 |
1 |
#,Similarity, Function & Tech |
|
Thursday, March 15, 2001 |
29 |
6 |
2 |
Geom & Eff. Lesson Comp. |
|
Saturday, March 17, 2001 |
19 |
6 |
2 |
Geom & Eff. Lesson Comp. |
|
Thursday, April 19, 2001 |
54 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
#,Similarity, Function & Tech |
|
Saturday, April 21, 2001 |
44 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
#,Similarity, Function & Tech |
|
Thursday, May 3, 2001 |
29 |
6 |
2 |
3-D Geom & Goal Setting |
|
Saturday, May 5, 2001 |
16 |
6 |
2 |
3-D Geom & Goal Setting |
|
Thursday, May 10, 2001 |
52 |
6, 7 & 8 |
1 |
Math Stations & Equity |
|
Thursday, September 13, 2001 |
71 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
#, Geom & Coop. Group |
|
Saturday, September 15, 2001 |
79 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
#, Geom & Coop. Group |
|
Thursday, October 11, 2001 |
52 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Statistics & Assessment |
|
Saturday, October 13, 2001 |
28 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Statistics & Assessment |
|
Thursday, October 18, 2001 |
46 |
6 |
3 |
Algebra & Assessment |
|
Saturday, October 20, 2001 |
31 |
6 |
3 |
Algebra & Assessment |
COMMSTEP's 2001 Summer Institutes were held June 18-29, 2001 and August 6-10, 2001. The summer institutes focus on units specific to each of the three curricula supported by the project. Teachers are assigned to grade-level, curriculum-specific groups.
|
Date |
# Teachers |
Grade Levels |
Cohort |
|
June 18-29, 2001 |
130 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
|
June 25-29, 2001 |
39 |
6 |
3 |
|
June 25-29, 2001 |
50 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
|
August 6-10, 2001 |
50 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
COMMSTEP's Leadership Team meets monthly with additional meetings scheduled as needed.
COMMSTEP's Advisory Board held its second meeting February 26-27, 2001.
During Spring 2001 COMMSTEP's Project Director held individual site meetings with participating schools' mathematics teachers and building administrators. Targeted schools included those with upcoming administration changes, resistive teachers, and schools joining the project summer 2001.
COMMSTEP project personnel updated a pre/post-test that was administered to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in the project during the 2000-01 school year. There were separate assessments for each grade level, even though some questions appeared at more than one grade level. The pre-tests were administered in September 2000 and the post-tests in May 2001. The test consisted of five multiple-choice items, five 5-minute items, and one 15-minute item. The test was designed for a 45-minute class period. However, students were allowed additional time, if needed. Calculators were also allowed on the test.
Pre- and post-tests from 10,740 students were scored during an assessment professional development conference June 11-14, 2001. Middle and high school mathematics teachers and local district and state department assessment personnel participated in the conference.
COMMSTEP received supplemental funding from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning to support the 2001 Assessment Professional Development Conference.
In August 2001 COMMSTEP received supplemental NSF funding for a student achievement research design study. The focus during this initial start-up period has been on developing protocols to recruit teachers for the spring 2002 study. Activities included the acquisition and review of participant databases from COMMSTEP and RMMLC, the development of an invitation letter and recruitment form, and a brief presentation at the September meeting of the Colorado Mathematics Leaders Network to inform them of the project. In addition, items were compiled for inclusion in the teacher survey based on the specifications of the path model.
|
|
