This three-year project seeks to improve the teaching of geometry in kindergarten through grade 8 by increasing the quantity and quality of the geometry that is taught. Each summer, forty teachers from the Baltimore area will participate in a four-week workshop that integrates instruction in mathematical content and methodology, especially the use of manipulatives and educational software. Follow-up activities include four meetings during the academic year and visits by the project staff to the participants' classrooms. The evaluation will assess the project's effect on the participants' knowledge of and attitudes towards geometry and on their teaching practices. The emphasis on manipulative activities and concrete applications, as well as the focus on lower grade levels, makes this project especially beneficial for teachers of minority students. The project represents a collaborative effort by a university research mathematician, an independent school, and the Baltimore Public Schools. A majority of the participants will be teachers from schools with large minority enrollments. The Abell Foundation and the Baltimore Public Schools are contributing in cost-sharing an amount equal to 19% of the NSF award.
