University of Washington, Bothell assistant professor of education Robin Angotti, Ph.D., has received funding from the Higher Education Coordinating (HEC) Board for an innovative program designed to bring middle- and high-school-level mathematics instruction up to 21st-century technology standards. The $660,220 grant funds “Math 2.0: Teaching Math in a Technical World,” a three-year project built upon an award-winning professional development program coordinated by the North Central Educational Service District (NC ESD), the Mathematics Leadership Alliance.
The goal of Teaching Math in a Technical World (TMTW) is to help educators harness new online technologies and mathematics software to teach students math, particularly in grades 6-10, a critical time for laying the foundation for readiness for college-level learning. The expectation is that, by integrating these tools in the demonstration of mathematical concepts, more students will gain proficiencies that will lead to success in higher-level mathematics.
The TMTW integrated work plan is comprised of three intensive, year-long professional development programs serving a total of 34 teachers and eight principals per year. A two-part summer institute is augmented with online learning, three additional workshops throughout the years and classroom observations. School principals will join the teachers during some of their sessions for both integrated and separate learning activities.
The school principals’ component was developed by Dr. Angotti’s colleague, UW-Bothell professor of education Tom Bellamy, Ph.D., founding director of the Goodlad Institute for Educational Renewal. It is designed to expand principals’ skills for observing and supporting technology-rich mathematics classrooms.
TMTW will pay particular attention to creating effective instruction for English-language learners and students of low socio-economic status. Because many of these students enter the classroom without the vocabulary necessary for full participation in traditional mathematics curricula, teachers will be taught how to foster mathematics-related communication by using Web 2.0 tools (i.e., blogs, online journals and wikis) and other nontraditional communication strategies.
The program will be executed in partnership with Central Washington University and an innovative inter-disciplinary collaboration with professor Kelvin Sung in the UW-Bothell Computer Science and Software program. The project is funded by a grant authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and administered by the U.S. Department of Education and Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Detailed information on Dr. Angotti’s research can be found in her research profile (video version) online at: http://www.uwb.edu/academic/research/index.xhtml.
