The College of Charleston’s Center for Partnerships to Improve Education in the School of Education, Health and Human Performance is starting the Math Improvement Project (MIP) to help Charleston area teachers enhance STEM education. The Math Improvement Project (MIP) will train 20 classroom teachers and education professors in the five-step Algebra Project approach for teaching mathematics. The project is funded by a $37,000 grant from the Alcoa Foundation.
MIP will work with teachers at a low-income/high minority public charter school on James Island. The initial training will occur over five days in October 2013 and will be followed by at least two follow-up visits that include classroom observations and workshops in January and March 2014.
“The effects of the Math Improvement Project will reach much further than just one school on James Island,” explains Courtney Howard, director of the Center for Partnerships to Improve Education. “The professors participating in the MIP will be equipped to use the five-step approach in classes they teach to undergraduate and graduate-level education majors. This will ultimately yield more teachers exposed to the five-step approach, which means more students will be given high-quality mathematics education.”
The Algebra Project approach that is being taught through the MIP uses local culture, everyday uses of math, language, literacy and community involvement to teach math processes. The Southern Initiative of the Algebra Project will provide the training and oversee the community-involvement component that is being incorporated to make certain that the Math Improvement Project meets the needs of and sustains support of the community, and gains the resources needed to maintain the project over time.
After completing the entire project, classroom teachers will earn College of Charleston graduate credit that can be used to renew their teaching credential.
A top of the line mathematics education is becoming exceedingly important, especially in poverty-stricken schools such as the participating school on James Island. In 2011-2012, 84% of the school’s third graders and 56% of its eighth graders did not meet grade level standard on the math PASS test. The five-step approach will help teachers to make sure that their students understand, not memorize, math concepts.
The Math Improvement Project is a stepping-stone to a strong and mutually beneficial relationship between the College of Charleston and its community.
For more information on the Math Improvement Project, contact the director of Center for Partnerships to Improve Education, Dr. Courtney A Howard at howardca1@cofc.edu.
