- Serigne Gningue
- Associate Professor Mathematics Education/Co-PI
- Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
- Lehman College, MTTI
- Roger Peach
- Dr
- Presenter’s NSFRESOURCECENTERS
- Lehman College, MTTI
Mathematics Teacher Transformation Institutes (MTTI)
NSF Awards: 0832247
2015 (see original presentation & discussion)
Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12
We will present the Mathematics Teacher Transformation Institutes (MTTI), a NSF-funded program designed to support the development of teacher leaders to strengthen mathematics teaching and learning in Bronx, New York, middle and high schools. MTTI developed a three-year three-dimensional 24-credits program that focused on (1) deepening participating teachers’ content knowledge, (2) broadening their pedagogical repertoire through the student-centered process of inquiry, and (3) developing their leadership capacities across a number of domains within the context of a professional community. MTTI expected to see fundamental shifts in practice leading to more effective mathematics teaching and teacher leadership.
MTTI recruited two cohorts of 40 teachers with at least four years teaching experience over five years (2009-2011 & 2011-2013). Twenty-seven teachers of Cohort 1 completed the three-year program while twenty-six from Cohort 2 completed it. A change in the sequencing of courses for Cohort 2 led to more significant results as scores on both the University of Louisville Geometry/Measurement and Algebra tests increased significantly from pretest to posttest. Moreover, Cohort 2 completers showed a significant increase in their confidence in taking on certain key leadership activities such as (1) mentoring fellow teachers with the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS); (2) conducting and disseminating the results of their action research projects; and (3) facilitating and organizing a professional learning community in mathematics or other subjects in their schools and districts. Additionally, their students’ scores rose significantly, from pretest to posttest, on a CCLS-aligned set of performance tasks in mathematics.
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Iliya Gutin
Hi Serigne, Roger-
Great work! I noticed that a significant component of your research involves sharing these innovative teaching methods with a broader community of teachers and educators. Are there any plans to expand this program on broader, city-wide (if not state and national) level? Stemming from that question, did you have any difficulty recruiting teachers to participate or in encouraging them to finish the program?
Roger Peach
Dr
Hi lliya – At the moment we don’t have plans for a city-wide expansion. If we did expand, we would probably look to run another cohort in the Bronx as there is still a considerable need there and Lehman is located in the Bronx. The action research component of MTTI has been incorporated into the Department of Middle and High School Education. Based on research and evaluation evidence for Cohort 1, we changed our recruitment protocol somewhat from Cohort 1 to Cohort 2 in an effort to increase retention. In part this was to get a greater indication of support from the participant’s school principal. We also ran the leadership component of MTTI throughout the program for Cohort 2, rather than at the end of the program for Cohort 1. These and other changes to the action research and math content components, helped to encourage participants to finish the program.
Tony Streit
Senior Project Director
Great job! Really love the testimonial from the educator and the story of how it had ripple impact through her school leadership. Can you share more about the feedback you’re getting from educators overall? What’s allowing for the kinds of changes you’re seeing and what barriers still exist?
Roger Peach
Dr
From the participants themselves we are getting feedback similar to that of the teacher featured in the video. Some participants said that they had never seen themselves as leaders when they began MTTI, but ended up adopting many leadership roles and developing their confidence as teacher-leaders.
Our evaluator contacted a sample of participants’ school principals, all of whom were very impressed with their MTTI teachers.
The introduction of the Common Core math standards helped to drive the changes. Cohort 2 participants worked with the Common Core standards in the leadership component of MTTI, and were seen as great resources in their schools to help other teachers adapt to the introduction of the Common Core standards. One of the issues is whether the changes in both the MTTI participants and their school colleagues are maintained over time. And whether MTTI teachers continue to get the support of their principals.
Sarah Rand
Partner Engagement and Communications Consultant
Great to see the classroom teacher perspective and understand the impact from her perspective.
Roger Peach
Dr
Yes, we thought that the classroom teacher would illustrate the effectiveness of the MTTI program more vividly than data alone. Although we did not show it in the video, many MTTI participants made the same or similar statements in their exit interviews.
Further posting is closed as the event has ended.