Sharon+Glenn

=Sharon Glenn's Reflection for The Ensworth School Math Science Committee=

My Position at The Ensworth School: High School Math Teacher - Precalculus B/C and AP Statistics
When our committee met last May, there was a predominant feeling that a “Best in Class Math/Science School” would be using “inquiry based” methods not to force information onto our students but to help them discover concepts and therefore internalize them. I feel like teachers are not fully prepared to take on that challenge 100% of the time in their classrooms, so over the 2007 summer, I thought I would research professional development opportunities that would help our math department (both middle and high school) learn about using inquiry teaching methods. I tried specifically to find upcoming “inquiry based” conferences (either during the school year or over the summer) to which we could travel. I found many write ups of conferences that had already happened, but none that were coming in the future. (I did find out about NCTM, TMTA, Teachers Teaching With Technology, and Teaching Contemporary Mathematics conferences which I hope we will be able to allow some teachers to attend, but there weren’t any entire workshop/conferences focusing on inquiry based methods.) I did, however, post links to many of these conferences (both past and present) so that we would have easy access to them on our del.icio.us page. Perhaps some of the conferences from the past will lead us to finding speakers who may come and host an inquiry based institute for our teachers on our campus.

Summary of Pat Tyree's (Math Curriculum Specialist for Williamson County Schools) comments about properties of a "Best in Class Math and Science Program" Members who participate in professional development in the content area: NCTM, TMTA, MTMT (not just attendance, but planning and presenting) Members who are willing to assume responsibility for their share of the department workload and lead when it is their turn. Members who offer suggestions for improvement and members who listen to the ideas of all. Teachers who are in communication with each other: engaged in vertical discussions concerning the curriculum, student mathematical development, math preparation for higher ed/career Teachers who are willing to share strategies and methods of instruction, willing to collaborate to develop meaningful assignments, common assessments, and projects. Agreement by all department members about important processes of mathematics: Representation, Communication, Connections, Problem-Solving and REASONING (including inductive reasoning and discovery, problem-solving, writing, use of technology) Teachers who know more mathematics than they have to teach and can help students make connections between concepts A department that works together to bring more to the mathematics program than what is in a textbooks: speakers (university, parents, community, careers); contests (IML, AMC, TMTA) Attention that the overall program that differentiates when necessary: challenges for those that need it and remediation (different strategies than the first time) for those who need it Work between other departments to strengthen mathematics program.

Summary of Jennifer Donato's (Ensworth High School Math Teacher) opinions of things we're currently doing that are "best in class".

Students can recall concepts they have learned in previous years. Teachers coming up with innovative ways to teach concepts (this probably helps their retention rate).