Math
Section V.
OUTREACH FROM EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY (printable
version)
Field experience in the mathematics teacher certification program consists of classroom observations, tutoring of individuals, small group teaching in methods placements, and student teaching. Field experiences are an essential component in the process of learning to create meaningful mathematics instruction. Field experiences such as observing teachers while they engage students in learning, or tutoring an individual student allows candidates to test their developing knowledge of strategies that are effective in mathematics instruction.
The primary purpose of all field experiences in the initial program is to challenge candidates to take all that has been learned and put it into practice. Field experience--followed by reflection--is an integral component of this process. It is through this reflective process--and through the support of fellow candidates and school mentors--that students come to grow in their capacity to be effective teachers.
To help candidates develop their abilities to create meaningful mathematics instruction, FETE classes help future teachers to develop skills and apply knowledge. There are two sections of mathematics methods that if students elect to take them, they can help them to become confident and knowledgeable--Math 306 and Math 381. In those sections students have the opportunity to "teach" at Estabrook and Willow Run High School.
B. Collaboration and Partnership with P-12 Schools
Several types of collaborative programs and projects have been developed with P-12 schools, their faculties, and appropriate others to develop and refine knowledge bases, to conduct research, and to improve the quality of education. These efforts range from directing twelve Eisenhower Higher Education Professional Development programs to providing consultative services for needs identified by local school personnel. In each case, mathematics education faculty bring their knowledge and expertise and attempt to work with school faculty to identify problems, to propose solutions, and to engage in learning experiences which will contribute toward the improvement of the quality of education.
Education’s partnership with Willow Run High School. Willow Run is a diverse and socioeconomic disadvantaged school system. Since its inception, EMU faculty and candidates have supported students and staff with mentoring, tutoring, and consultation. Guiding principles, such as the best practice professional development programs of the Michigan Department of Education offer a general framework for implementation strategies. Experience within Detroit school indicates that while each partnership has unique characteristics, there are some commonalities, which make a supportive yet challenging network such as our Partnerships with the following schools, serve as an invaluable resources and provides an arena to address the challenges.
· Detroit Public Schools· Ypsilanti Public Schools· Willow Run Public Schools· Romulus· Farmington· Lincoln Consolidated Schools· Grosse Pointe· Dearborn· Livonia
In addition to the above examples, education faculty have identified key teachers and administrators from P-12 schools in the metropolitan area and have hired them as speakers for a variety of professional development programs. In so doing, professional relationships are fostered which contribute to developing a thorough, practice-oriented knowledge base for teacher education students.
The following list and description of the Eisenhower Higher Education Programs and National Science Foundation grants demonstrate the strong collaboration between EMU’s mathematics department and schools in Southeast Detroit.
EMU/NSF Summer Science Camp
(National Science Foundation)
The Eastern Michigan University Summer Environment
Camp addressed the critical shortage of mathematicians, engineers, and scientists
the
The Camp consisted of two phases: a four-week residential program and four Saturday Academies during the following school year. Fifty seventh grade students from six public school systems in southeast Michigan planned and conducted research projects; participated in explorations and field trips; and discussed academic and career goals with university and pre-college faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and minority mentors from business and industry. The project was an interdisciplinary partnership of EMU's science and mathematics faculty with student mentors, industry leaders, government agencies, school systems and parents.
Preparing Elementary Mathematics Teachers for Success: Implementing a Research-Based Mathematics Curriculum
National Science Foundation
The Emerging Scholars Program for Teachers (EST) is an NSF-funded collaborative project (DUE 9950679-1999-2002) among two community colleges and one teacher-education university that provides a sequence of Standards-based mathematics coursework for under-prepared prospective teachers adapting materials from NSF K-12 curricula and the Treisman Model. The philosophy emphasizes reconceptualization of mathematics rather than review or remediation. Besides regular class work students attend weekly workshops where they work in teams to solve challenging problems, in some cases under the mentorship of more advanced peers. Preliminary findings suggest that conceptual understanding, symbolic anxiety, and metacognition were found to be significant.
The project has strengthened communication and collaboration across institutions among the instructors involved in the study. We meet regularly to share, create, and compare materials, program structure, and administrative concerns.
The program appears to be achieving most of its goals. The three higher education institutions are able to implement a Treisman Model curriculum for prospective teachers at developmental levels. Students are decreasing in mathematics abstraction anxiety, are learning mathematics content and process, and recognizing the benefits of team-work and communicating multiple approaches to problem solving. As institutions, we are learning more about the mechanisms needed to support such a program at ours and other colleges.
Project SEAMLESS I & II
Eisenhower Higher Education Professional Development Project
The overall goal of this grant is to provide mentorship opportunities for future teachers that supplement the student teaching experience and increase pre-service, student, and professional teachers' awareness of how to integrate the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics and the Michigan Curriculum Framework Content Standards and Benchmarks. Project SEAMLESS II faculty coordinators from Eastern Michigan University, Schoolcraft College, and Henry Ford Community College have offered this program to pre-student teachers and professional teachers from Detroit, Ypsilanti, Dearborn, and Livonia over the past four semesters, since September 1999, and received many rave reviews. We are very pleased with the outcomes of the previous semesters. Pre-service teachers and student teachers, have participated with dedicated teachers and mentors that were truly helpful to the process of professional networking.
(Eisenhower High Education Grant)
The primary goal of the Integrating Mathematics and Science Through Technology Project was to emphasize connections for future teachers not only between mathematical and scientific topics but also between real world problems and abstract development of laboratory materials integrated throughout mathematics courses for preservice teachers (K-12); a computer network for data sharing, resources acquisition and activities to retain underrepresented preservice students in mathematics and science coursework. The CBL from Vernier software will be used to improve the instructors' abilities to integrate mathematics and science through the use of a visual, ready-to interpret graphic display.
Number and Pattern in African Culture:
A Preservice Mentorship Program I & II
(Eisenhower Grant--funded for 1997-1999)
Number and Pattern in African Culture is a mentorship program for preservice teachers from Eastern Michigan University (EMU), and Henry Ford and Washtenaw community colleges. Teachers from the Detroit Public Schools will serve as mentors for preservice teachers as university students develop and teach activities in conjunction with the Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. The mathematical content will focus on methods of calculation and measurement; mathematical recreations and reasoning; and patterns of shape through architecture and art throughout African culture. The project is designed in three phases: (1) professional development of preservice teachers and their Detroit Public School mentors; (2) creation of materials by preservice teachers for children during their museum visit; and (3) structured field experiences that enable preservice teachers to extend the museum visit.
Math in the City: A Professional Development Model Linking Teachers with Michigan Benchmarks
(Eisenhower Grant--funded for 2001-2002)
Math in the City is a sixteen month-long program for K-12 teachers to experience, first-hand, mathematics content and processes. First, by becoming a learner and tourist of the city of Detroit, beginning teachers deepen their own understanding of the mathematics content that they are teaching their students. Second, by experiencing the processes involved in connecting mathematics to the real-world for themselves, teachers are better prepared to help students become active, engaged mathematical problem solvers. The project is comprised of three intensive learning experiences that require time for teachers to focus on learning mathematics in depth in the context of the city: Detroit Storyliving; community tours of Black Historic Sites; and Saturdays in Detroit's Cultural Center. Teachers create mathematics materials from these experiences that they can use in the classroom. The curriculum will utilize CLiMB (Clarifying Language in Michigan Benchmarks) recommendations. Stakeholders include: Detroit Public Schools, Wayne Regional Educational Agency’s Mathematics and Science Center, the Detroit Historical Museum, and Eastern Michigan University’s College of Arts and Sciences
Through various grant opportunities the Elementary and Secondary Mathematics programs collaborate with the following organizations:
The following Michigan Campus Compact Grants bring students and the environment together.
The purpose of Building a Dream: A Blueprint for Geometry is to show students how mathematics permeates all aspects of our life including construction. Students compile statistics for Habitat for Humanity while they visit a house in progress and do a variety of relevant mathematics and geometry problems.
The Reality Store is a 15-booth career fair to help junior high students become aware of the importance of education. Students choose careers and are given a one-month pay. They roll dice to determine their marital status and the number of children. They then “travel” through the month paying for groceries, insurance, children’s clothes, medical, transportation, and a host of “unexpected” circumstances. EMU students act as booth supervisors.
EMU welcomes collaboration between and among other institutions of higher education. The mathematics education faculty attends and present at a variety of conferences. At these conferences they collaborate with faculty from other institutions emphasizing teacher preparation.
Faculty members serve on review panels through the State Department of Education. These PR/PE panels give faculty an opportunity to interact with faculty across the state of Michigan. They are exposed to the best practices across the state.
EMU’s Mathematics Education area shares a strong relationship with Washtenaw Community College. Because a significant of future teachers begin their education at the Community College level, it is very beneficial that faculty members share texts, materials, and personnel. The collaboration was funded by Michigan State University.
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