Three mathematical sciences departments at Rice University, in partnership
with Aldine and Houston Independent School Districts, are providing the
Mathematics Leadership Institute (MLI) for high school mathematics teachers
in the Houston area. MLI is a collaboration among two ethnically diverse
school districts, the Departments of Mathematics (MATH), Computational
and Applied Mathematics (CAAM), and Statistics (STAT) at Rice University
and the Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP). The MLI is
developing a cadre of 80 lead teachers in mathematics and expanding teachers'
knowledge in each of the important mathematics strands that form the core
of the high school mathematics curriculum. Lead teachers on each high
school campus provide mathematics content and pedagogical support for
the entire mathematics department. In addition to developing mathematics
teachers who are able to engage all students in challenging mathematics
and ensuring all students have access to and encouraged to participate
in challenging and advanced mathematics s courses, the proposal also seeks
to impact the instructional practices of college faculty, post-docs, and
graduate students in the
Each institute under MLI consists of two
four-week sessions conducted over two consecutive summers and focusing
on increasing teachers' knowledge of mathematics and pedagogy, leadership
development, current research on mathematics education, advances in technology,
diversity issues related to student achievement gaps and retaining and
strategies for retaining a diverse teaching workforce. Lead teachers'
academic year activities include collaborative planning, coaching, demonstration
teaching, and co-teaching with high school mathematics teachers, monthly
meetings for the Institute participants, colloquia, seminars, and opportunities
to participate in discussion groups with mathematics faculty, post-docs
and graduate students and to collaborate on the development of curriculum
materials. The Institute also supports teachers as they prepare for Texas
Master Mathematics Certification. Through their interactions with lead
teachers, CAAM, MATH, and STAT faculty, post-docs, and graduate students
are gaining valuable insight into successful teaching practices that will
transfer to their own practice.
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