Intel Math Connections: A Three-Year Study of the Impact of a Math-Based Program on Elementary Teachers
Abstract: This conference paper is authored by Matt Feldmann, Goshen Education Consulting,Inc., Adam Weyhaupt, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Mary Ann Quivey, Monroe/Randolph Regional Office of Education #45 and is part of the 2013 Advancing the STEM Agenda Conference proceedings.
The paper considers the impact of a professional development program focused on improving math skills for elementary school teachers and their students in two mostly rural Southwestern Illinois counties. The Monroe/Randolph Regional Office of Education #45 was awarded two Illinois Math and Science Partnership grants to employ an Intel Math workshop and follow-up over three school years.
The Intel Math Connections Project included four projects that consisted of a 80 hour summer professional development module focused on middle and high school math concepts and a school year follow-up where teachers were divided into groups to form vertically aligned mathematical learning communities (MLCs). The learning communities were led by middle and high school math teachers and were focused on “stretching” math problems for application to all grades. A comparison group of teachers included four cohorts of matched control group elementary teachers. These teachers were not provided access to the project materials but received the same surveys and tests as the project teachers to form a quasi-experimental research study.
This study focused on the impact of the program on the project teachers in comparison to the control group teachers. Research questions include (1) teacher content understanding, and (2) teacher change in pedagogy.