"Project MERIT: Mathematics Education Reform Initiative for Teachers," a five-year Teacher Enhancement project, continues and expands a prior NSF-supported planning project to address the established need of middle school mathematics teachers to improve knowledge of the content of mathematics and how students learn mathematics. MERIT builds capacity for change through professional development by nurturing a mathematics leadership team (MLTs) and 125 mentor teachers (MMTs), one or more from each of the 55 county school systems in West Virginia. Using the NSF-supported MathScape instructional materials as the vehicle for change, MERIT provides for the systematic delivery of instruction in the pedagogical content knowledge of mathematics to more than 950 middle grades mathematics teachers. Over the life of the project, the 35-member mathematics leadership team (MLTs) participates in 36 days of formal professional development; the 125 mentor teachers (MMTs), 45 days; the approximately 950 middle grades mathematics teachers, 18 days; school/county administrators, 9 days; and higher education faculty and administrators, 10 days.
Project evaluation includes both student and teacher components. Evaluation of student achievement is made using the Stanford Achievement Test-9 (SAT-9) and ACT Explore. The teacher component assesses growth in teacher content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and classroom implementation strategies.
The project is a collaborative effort among the W. Va. Department of Education, the University and State College Systems of W. Va., the W. Va. Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and the W. Va. Mathematics and Science Coalition.
