Leveraging Stimulus Funding to Improve Achievement in Math

Schools that are considering how to prepare their students for school and careers in a global economy are looking at innovative ways to improve student proficiency in math. To date, the US Department of Education has suggested several ideas, including "creating summer programs that prepare struggling students to be successful in gateway courses, such as algebra." Additional strategies included using technology to improve teaching and learning and extending learning time for students. Recommendations included using funds to purchase and intensively train teachers on interactive curricula aligned to standards with embedded assessment and offering online high school courses. Join this webinar to learn what funding is available to help educators purchase math curricula and services to help prepare your students to be successful in math.

Presenter:

Jennifer House, Ph.D., Founder and Principal
RedRock Reports is led by Dr. Jennifer House, Ph.D. A noted education market leader, Dr. House is a former school district administrator and educational technology innovator. In addition to tenure with the Cupertino, CA school district, she also held executive positions with Apple Computer, Classroom Connect, and other leading K-12 organizations. Under Dr. House’s direction, RedRock Reports has assembled a team of specialists with a broad range of professional experience and industry perspectives.

Donna Craighead, Ph.D., Senior Analyst
With over 28 years of educational technology experience, Donna Craighead, Ph.D. is the Senior Analyst for RedRock Reports. Her responsibilities include research, analysis, and synthesis of funding information. She also provides professional development focused on integrating technology, special education, and mathematics. As a professional educator, she was responsible for the development and implementation of a regional service center math curriculum program, taught special education and Title I mathematics, and provided technology education instruction from pre-school through post-graduate level

Algebra Readiness & Differentiated Instruction

Districts across the national are raising their graduation requirements to now requiring students to pass Algebra I and in some cases even Algebra II. Helping students to become prepared for Algebra has become a high concern for many educators and a problematic topic for many on how this can be attained for all their unique students’ needs. Join us for this session to hear more about how an algebra readiness implementation can help all students to be prepared to pass algebra and how differentiating instruction across students' unique learning abilities can help all students to learn the math they need to graduate from high school.

Presenter:

Dr. Steve Ritter
Ritter is a Chief Scientist at Carnegie Learning and has been developing and evaluating educational systems for over 10 years. He was the lead cognitive scientist on the Carnegie Learning Bridge to Algebra curriculum an algebra readiness solution. Ritter is also a co-author for the research paper “Carnegie Learning: Tracking Learning in Real Time” which he presented to the National Mathematics Advisory Panel.

Developmental Mathematics in Higher Education

Postsecondary colleges now offer developmental math courses to help students fill in the gaps in their math knowledge so they can be prepared for college level math courses. This session will review some instructional strategies used in colleges across the nation and how technology has been used to support and strengthen the teaching of developmental math.

Presenter:

Myra Snell
Myra Snell has been a Professor of Mathematics at Los Medanos College for the last 17 years. She teaches courses ranging from arithmetic to calculus and statistics, with an emphasis on the developmental course sequence. For the last six years she has served as Co-Coordinator of the LMC Developmental Education Program and Co-Coordinator of the LMC Teaching and Learning Project. In both roles she primarily works with faculty to assess student learning outcomes and to design classroom-based projects responding to assessment results with the goal of improving teaching and learning. She is currently a consultant with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on a new initiative focused on accelerating the progress of underprepared students into transfer-level Statistics.

The Use of Technology in the Math Classroom

Join us for a Webinar on “The Use of Technology in the Math Classroom: Can it Help U.S. Students Catch Up with Their Global Peers?"

Filmmaker Robert Compton has traveled around the globe – from Indiana to India - blogging and filming about the differences in secondary education systems. One of the key questions he explores is whether U.S. high schools can better prepare students for 21st century careers. He may have found an answer at New Technology High at Arsenal Tech in Indianapolis. This school system is nationally recognized as a “Distinguished Implementation School in the New Tech Network”. Hear how the Academic Dean Scott DeFreese utilizes online technology and collaborative learning projects to encourage students to discover, think, collaborate and become leaders.

Presenters:

Robert Compton
Mr. Compton has served as Executive Producer of the Two Million Minutes documentary. He has had a distinguished business career as a venture capitalist, as former President of a NYSE company, as the entrepreneur founder of four companies and as an angel investor in more than a dozen businesses. Mr. Compton has traveled the world extensively. His trips to India in 2005 and 2006 inspired him to author a blog, publish a book - Blogging Through India - and to create the documentary Two Million Minutes.

Scott DeFreese
Scott DeFreese is in his 14th year as an urban educator with the Indianapolis Public School system. He was selected to be one of the founding teachers of New Tech High @ Arsenal, which opened in the fall of 2007. He has served as the Director and Academic Dean of New Tech for the past two years.

Are Your Students Algebra Ready?

It has become an economic imperative for students in communities across the nation to learn algebra before graduating from high school. Students who master this critical subject are better prepared for entry into college or the workplace. School districts across the nation have responded to business and community leaders to help children be prepared to compete in a global economy. One strategy has been to move algebra instruction into the eighth grade. How do educators ensure student preparedness for algebra? In this session we hear from educators who have developed models for instruction that are helping students from a variety of ages and backgrounds become better prepared to enter and pass algebra.

Presenters:

Dr. Robert Siegler
Teresa Heinz Professor of Cognitive Psychology Carnegie Mellon University
Member of the National Math Advisory Panel

Mary Ann Stine
Director of Curriculum & Instruction Everett Public Schools in Washington

Professional Development Models for Strengthening Content Knowledge in Mathematics

Building teacher capacity to instruct in mathematics is a highly visible recommendation from the 2008 National Mathematics Advisory Panel. The final report states, "teachers must know in detail and from a more advanced perspective the mathematical content they are responsible for teaching..." This webinar covers promising practices of how districts are helping to build their teachers' capacity as well as strategies for improving teachers' understanding of how student developmentally learn mathematics.

Presenters:

Ms. Liz Storey
Executive Director
Green River Regional Educational Cooperative, Kentucky

Response to Intervention for Secondary Mathematics

Many secondary school educators are looking for information and best practices on how to implement response to intervention models for mathematics. How can the needs of tier two and tier three students be met? What role can educational technology play to support teaching and learning tasks from progress monitoring to providing additional academic learning opportunities that are adaptive and self-paced? This Webinar dicusses emerging practices for response to intervention for mathematics in secondary school classrooms.

Presenters:

Dr. John McCook
President, John McCook and Associates

Dr. Diana Jones
RTI/ Appraisal Director
Recovery School District, Louisiana

Redesigning Developmental Math Courses & Services

Most postsecondary institutions offer remedial coursework in mathematics. Over 60% of students enrolled in the nation’s community colleges take a least one developmental education course. In the past decade colleges have been redesigning their developmental education programs to improve student retention. Watch this session to find out which redesign models for developmental mathematics are showing promise.

Presenters:

Mr. Jack Rotman
Professor, Department of Mathematical Skills
Chair of AMATYC’s Developmental Mathematics Committee

Dr. Mary Monroe-Ellis
Dean of Transitional Studies
Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Tennessee

The Impact of High School Redesign on Teaching Mathematics

Secondary schools across the nation are turning their focus on how to ensure their students will meet college and career expectations. High school redesign efforts have resulted in improving the rigor of high school courses and introducing exit exams or end of course tests. How well are students meeting the new expectations? What is being done to assist students who may be underprepared and may have gaps in their understanding of mathematics? What strategies are being implemented to help students pass math courses and ensure they graduate from high school on time? In this webinar session we hear from educators who have designed high school math courses that are strengthening student understanding of mathematics and seeing stronger pass rates on courses and examinations.

Presenters:

Ms. Tracy Halka
Projector Manager
ADP Assessment Consortium
Achieve, Inc.

Mr. Rickey Murff
High School Transformation IDS Lead
Chicago Public Schools