The West Texas Middle School Math Partnership's primary goal is to improve the mathematics performance and mathematics appreciation of middle grades students in West Texas by developing teacher leaders who have a deep understanding of the elementary mathematics taught in the middle grades, of special pedagogy knowledge required to teach mathematics to diverse student populations, and of the ability to employ proven strategies for enhancing the mathematics self-efficacy of diverse student populations. The partnership team uses four components to support these principles: (1) Summer courses are taught with graduate credit awarded to in-service teachers. (2) A virtual community of middle school mathematics teachers and mentors is used to maintain a supportive environment for the participants throughout the academic year. (3) Regional conferences are held at each university campus for participants and their administrators. (4) Case portfolios and training modules are created and used for professional development of both in-service and pre-service teachers.
The theoretical framework for the project is based on extensive research in self-efficacy theory and case-based learning. The research associated with this project has far reaching ramifications as a result of studying the relationship between student achievement and self-efficacy and teacher cultural sensitivity, competence and self-efficacy as well as factors affecting Hispanic student learning.
This partnership is led by Texas Tech University and has core university partners of Angelo State University, Sul Ross State University, and University of Texas at Permian Basin, as well as core school partners of Lubbock Independent School District, and Texas Education Service Center Regions 15, 17, and 18. They directly impact 150 middle level mathematics teachers and hundreds of pre-service mathematics teachers. Nearly 50,000 students, the majority being Hispanic, in middle grades could eventually be impacted annually in the three service center regions. Institutional transformation and sustainability are enabled by the creation of specialized clinical faculty positions in the higher education partners, systemic changes in the preparation of new math teachers at the four partner universities, and the continuing professional development of practicing math teachers.
(WTMWMP) The relatively poor performance of US students on international mathematics tests compared to students from many developed countries with whom we complete in the world market has been a concern for decades. While several factors have been suggested as contributing to this disparity, mathematics departments in universities can have a direct impact on only two, mathematics curricula and teacher preparation. In a 2005 report the National Academy of Sciences critiqued our current mathematics curricula: "A common flaw in mathematics and science curricula and textbooks is the attempt to cover too much material, which leads to superficial treatments of subjects and to needless repetition when hastily taught material is not learned the first time." Agreeing with this assessment, we chose to focus on the mathematics preparation of middle school teachers. Much of the foundation for future success in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics begins in middle school. Unfortunately many US students, especially girls and minorities, enter the middle grades (5-8) with positive attitudes about math and the possibility of pursuing careers in such areas, but leave them disliking, if not hating, math. This is also a grade range in which there is a large disparity in math backgrounds among teachers, and research shows that of all college majors, those students majoring in elementary and middle school education exhibit the highest levels of math anxiety and the lowest levels of math self-efficacy. Providing practicing and aspiring middle school math teachers with the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the mathematics they teach was the primary goal of this project. The vehicle for achieving this goal is a rigorous university math curriculum that goes well beyond learning procedures and memorizing rules. To this end we developed three textbooks: Integers and Fractions: An Investigation into the Algebraic Structure of our Numbers begins with the concept of a positive integer and concludes with the existence of irrational numbers. Measures of Size in 0, 1, 2, and 3 Dimensions develops the concepts of size of geometric regions in each dimension. Concepts of Probability and Statistics extends the concept of discrete finite probability to the concept of infinite continuous probability (the standard bell-shaped curve). WTMSMP consists of four universities and three Texas Education Service Center (TESC) Regions: Texas Tech University, Angelo State University, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, Sul Ross State University and TESCs 15, 17, and 18. A total of 150 practicing middle school math teachers in our 84,000 square mile region of West Texas completed three graduate-level math courses using the textbooks describe above during three consecutive summers in the period 2009 thru 2013; participated in workshops on building students' math self-efficacy, teaching math to English Language Learners, and teaching students with diverse cultural backgrounds; participated in four spring theme conferences and two fall retreats. The teachers ended the program with significantly higher levels of Math Knowledge for Teaching (specific math knowledge needed for teaching the math encountered in the middle grades), higher levels of conceptual understanding of the math concepts encountered in the middle grades, significantly higher levels of math self-efficacy (belief that they can do the math themselves), significantly higher levels of math teaching self-efficacy (belief that they can positively affect their students' learning in math), increased measures of cultural sensitivity (specifically with respect to teaching math in diverse classrooms). The teachers found the course work to be very challenging, especially at the beginning of the first course on algebraic structure. However with perseverance and encouragement from each other they were able to succeed. Another finding of note is that the teachers with weak college math backgrounds were able to benefit equally from the course as the teachers with strong college math backgrounds. That is, while the teachers with weak backgrounds had lower scores on all beginning and ending math measures, both groups had parallel gains. We interpret this to mean that if the math course starts at a fundamental level assuming no prerequisite knowledge and builds in a clear, logical progression, then all teachers can benefit equally, irrespective of their previous college-level math backgrounds. During the project we used the algebraic structure text in our TTU senior level problem solving course for students seeking certification as middle school math specialists. This included approximately 250 students over a five year period. These students also found the course very challenging. However, by the end of the course the vast majority exhibited mastery of the concepts. We have developed a mathematics curriculum, with focus on the underlying structures and concepts rather than just mastery of procedures and memory of rules, that provides the typical US middle school math teacher with the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the math taught in the middle grades in the US.
