9454371 Post, Cramer, Lesh abstract Middle Grades Teacher Enhancement: Model Program Development and Evaluation This three-year project consists of three primary activities: (1) initial development of the teacher enhancement program to support the development of integrated mathematical, psychological, and pedagogical content knowledge for a series of mathematical topics appropriate to the middle grades, (2) trial and refinement of the teacher enhancement program with several groups of teachers using teachine experiment methodology. This will develop an exportable teacher enhancement program that will implement National Science Foundation-sponsored middle grades mathematics curriculum projects. A guiding principle for this project is the belief that what teachers know, directly influences their ability to effectively implement any new program of instruction. This teaching enhancement project will focus on enhancing the participants' mathematical content background, their knowledge of how children learn, and an in-depth review of new NSF mathematics curricula. An important element of this project is its effort to study the teacher enhancement process in order to articulate the dimensions of a model program for effective teacher enhancement. This three site project (Minneapolis, MN, and Princeton, NJ), involving a minimum of 285 middle grades teachers, will develop and implement teacher enhancement programs of one and two year duration that reflect the importance of teachers using integrated mathematical, psychological and pedagogical knowledge in effective teaching. It will also design and conduct an evaluation program that closely considers the teachers understanding a knowledge base in the effective implementation of new curricula and new approaches to instruction. A revised version of these programs will be made available, in exportable modules, to others with similar teacher enhancement needs. After initial implementation of specific NSF curriculum programs, the teams of teachers involved in this project will assume leadership roles in their respective schools and help with the implementation of the new curricula on a larger scale and at other school sites.
