ABSTRACT-0412373
A Greater Birmingham Partnership (GBMP): Building
Communities of Learners and Leaders in Middle School Mathematics is fundamentally
targeting the improvement of middle school mathematics, with implications
for both future and current teachers, and with a secondary focus on high
school teachers of mathematics. The core partners include the lead organization,
Birmingham-Southern College, as well as, the University of Alabama at
Birmingham and eight Greater Birmingham Alabama school districts: Bessemer
City, Fairfield City, Homewood City, Hoover City, Jefferson County, Mountain
Brook City, Shelby County, and Vestavia City School Systems. A significant
supporting partner is the Mathematics Education Collaborative (MEC) of
the State of Washington.
The overarching goal of the GBMP is to significantly
improve the mathematics achievement of approximately 22,000 students in
grades 6-8, while narrowing the mathematics achievement gaps among varied
populations of students, through a number of strategies, which include:
(A) engaging all 274 middle grades teachers of mathematics in a series
of mathematical content courses centered on deep mathematical problems;
(B) leadership development of middle grades teachers as members of Mathematical
Support Teams (60 teachers), Mathematics Focus Groups (40 teachers), and
Mathematical Study Groups focused on special topics; (C) design/modification
of university mathematics courses for pre- and in-service teachers, including
the integration of engineering ideas that will focus students on the powerful
application of mathematical ideas; (D) placement of interns in classrooms
of teachers that model exemplary practices in mathematical instruction;
(E) establishment of teacher certification in middle grades mathematics;
(F) parental engagement as advocates for high quality mathematics for
all students; (H) enhancement of the capacity of administrators to identify
and support quality mathematical instruction; and (I) exploration of research
questions associated with mathematical learning by middle grades students
(metacognitive processes, motivation, social interaction, accommodations),
efficacy of professional development strategies, obtaining consistency
of solid mathematical reform in eight disparate-some of which serve very
privileged populations and others which serve extremely disadvantaged
populations-school districts simultaneously, studying pedagogical change
in university faculty as a result of their collaborations with K-12 districts,
and optimizing features of mesosystems-Institutions of Higher Education
and K-12 factors that maximize effectiveness.
The GBMP brings together
classroom teachers of mathematics, school administrators, university faculty
(mathematicians, engineers, and educators), experts in professional development,
researchers, community and business leaders, and the Alabama State Department
of Education to focus on the curricular, pedagogical, mathematical content,
certification, and parental interests that must be synergistically addressed
in order to support all middle grades learners in acquiring the mathematical
power necessary for success in the 21st century.
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