Urban Mathematics Education

Leadership Academy
Session 1
February 4-6, 2009
Dallas, TX
 Welcome Back
• Review of “Gots & Needs”
• Ground Rules Reminders
• Other announcements
 Day 2 Goals
• Identify what is needed for effective teacher leadership
• Increase understanding of elements of effective
professional development
• Gain understanding of PD strategies and their purposes
• Apply a framework for connecting PD to outcomes and
student learning needs
• Reflect on application of new learning to your own work
• Network with others and explore resources
 Case Discussion
• Who’s the Expert Around Here?
– Can someone summarize what happened in this
case?
– What is the central problem in this case?
– Are there other dilemmas? What are they?
– What do you believe are the issues that
contribute to the central problem?
 Perspective Taking
• What is your character’s view of the math specialist role?
• Identify 3-4 phrases your character might use to describe
the math specialist role.
• What concerns does your character have about how the
role is being carried out?
• Select one quote from your character that illustrates his/her
perspective on the math specialist role.
 Perspective Taking
• What is Paula’s view of the math specialist role?
• Identify 3-4 phrases Paula might use to describe the math
specialist role.
• What concerns does Paula have about how the role is
being carried out?
• Select one quote that illustrates Paula’s perspective on the
math specialist role.
 What is an Expert?
• What are the different kinds of knowledge a teacher leader
must possess?
• What expertise do the following situations require:
– Doing a demonstration lesson
– Organizing a building-wide math Olympics
– Supporting teachers to prepare students for state tests
– Leading professional development for colleagues
– Advocating for math education reform among teachers,
administrators, and parents?
 Applying the Case
• What situations in your own school or
district call upon teacher leader expertise?
What kind of expertise?
• How are you supporting the development of
this expertise in your own settings? What
else is needed?
Reflection and District Brainstorming

• How will we take what we are learning

back to our own districts?
• What people should we share info with?
• How can we support improvement
initiatives that are planned or underway?
• What challenges in our district could this
leadership group help to address and how?
 Inputs to Professional Development
Design
• Knowledge and Beliefs
– Research-based knowledge and guiding beliefs that influence the design of
professional development
• Context
– Specific factors, information, and influences that characterize the site where the
professional development will be implemented
• Critical Issues
– Issues that are essential to the effective and successful implementation and
sustainability of every professional development program
• Professional Development Strategies
– Learning experiences, each with specific characteristics, that constitute a
professional development program
Four Inputs for Designing
Professional Development

Knowledge
and
Beliefs
Context

Critical
Issues

Strategies
 Knowledge
and Beliefs
 Learners and Learning

 Teachers and Teaching

 The Nature of the Disciplines

 Change Process

 Effective Professional
Development
 Context
 Students
 Teachers
 Practices
 Resources
 Parents and Community
 Organizational Culture
 Organizational Structures
 History of Professional

Development
 Critical
Issues
 Ensuring Equity
 Building Professional Culture
 Developing Leadership
 Scaling Up
 Building Capacity
 Public Support
 Supporting Standards
 Evaluating Professional
Development
 Finding Time
 
 
 
Basic Components of
 
  Professional Development Design

Commit to
   
Vision and
Plan Evaluate
Standards

 
Set Goals Analyze
Student
 
Learning and
Do
Other Data
 Your PD Design
• Using the materials you have and anything else in the
room, create a model for professional development design.

• On Post-its, write notes about what you need to pay

attention to in your setting (see “input” slides):
– Knowledge and Beliefs (e.g., following the state
standards is important in my district)
– Context (e.g., we have a lot of new teachers in my
district)
– Critical Issues (e.g., we haven’t begun to work on
professional culture yet)
 Gallery Walk

• Share with the larger group your model and

why you put it together the way you did.
 Professional Development
 

Design Framework
 
 
 
 

 
Knowledge Context
And
Beliefs

Commit to Analyze        
Vision and Student Set Goals Plan Do Evaluate
Standards Learning and
Other Data

Critical
Issues  

Strategies
 Context
 Students
 Teachers

What are some  Practices

factors in your  Resources
context that would  Parents and Community
influence your  Organizational Culture
Professional
 Organizational Structures
Development
 History of Professional
Program?
Development
Designing Professional Development for Teachers of
Science and Mathematics, 2nd Edition, 2003

Susan Loucks-Horsley, Nancy Love, Katherine E. Stiles,

Susan Mundry, Peter W. Hewson

Huh? Skimmed Read Dog-Eared

 Start Your Engines
CORVETTE
MODEL - T

MINIVAN

Some PD Programs
remind me of a ….
because ….
PRIUS
SATURN

JEEP CHEROKEE VW BEETLE

 Vehicles Debrief...

• Need to know the purpose and intended

outcomes before you can select your design.
• PD programs usually require multiple
strategies.
• Student learning is the ultimate outcome;
plan for it.
 Strategies
 Aligning and Implementing Curriculum
Alignment and Materials Selection
Curriculum Implementation
Replacement Units
 Collaborative Structures
Partnerships with Scientists and Mathematicians
Professional Networks
Study Groups
 Examining Teaching and Learning
Action Research
Case Discussions
Examining Student Work/Thinking and Scoring
Assessments
Lesson Study
 Immersion Experiences
Inquiry in Science and Problem Solving in
Mathematics
World of Scientists and Mathematicians
 Practicing Teaching
Coaching
Demonstration Lessons
Mentoring
 Vehicles and Mechanisms
Developing Professional Developers
Technology for Professional Development
Workshops, Institutes, Courses, Seminars
 Strategy Card Game
• What do we know about this strategy?
• What is its purpose?
• See description in PD Book for more info?
• When would we use this strategy? For what
purpose?
 Teacher Learning Outcomes
• Increase content
knowledge
• Increase pedagogical
content knowledge
• Develop professional
learning community
• Develop leadership
 PD Strategy Purposes
• Develop awareness
• Build knowledge
• Translate new knowledge
into practice
• Practice teaching
• Reflect on teaching and
learning
 Thinking About Your PD
Program
• What outcomes are you expecting?
• What strategies would you like to explore?
For what purposes? With what outcomes?
Reflection
Tab 1, Day 2-3 Learning
Goals

2nd and 4th reflections