The IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI), with a 12-year history
of preparing high-school teacher leaders to improve their own practice
and implement professional development for their peers pilots a transfer
mechanism of its own professional development to three diverse school
districts across the nation Cincinnati, OH; McAllen, TX; and Seattle,
WA.
PCMI traditionally deals with high school teachers. This proposal
broadens participation by including middle school teachers. Three school
districts representing diverse student populations form partnerships with
local institutes of higher education. Districts identify 4-6 secondary
and middle schools for initial participation and all teachers of mathematics
in the designated schools become involved over the course of three years.
The three-year plan includes building a cadre of teacher leaders by their
participation in at least two PCMI summer sessions. PCMI partners with
a university mathematics department in each district to provide local
resources to the mathematics teachers supporting implementation of the
professional development model. District mathematics supervisors coordinate
with teacher leaders to design and implement local professional development
programs that meet the needs of peer mathematics teachers in selected
schools.
Districts design a professional development model that directly
addresses the needs of its own teachers and students based upon state
standards and local education environments.
Evaluation determines
the effectiveness of partnerships, teacher-leader formation, transfer
model, and district leadership teams.
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