MURFREESBORO, Tenn. —
Renee Crowder called it “the best professional development” she has ever
been a part of — and it was quite a “risky” proposition for her and the 150 K-8
math teachers attending the two-week workshop.
Most found the MTSU-led K-8
Summer Institute at Coffee County Middle School challenging. Teachers from Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Grundy, Rutherford and Franklin
counties gained confidence.
The Tennessee
Department of Education grant-funded 10-day session featured the teachers
working in small groups to tackle risks they know their students will
encounter. This marks the fifth year for the workshop, called Project Impact, in Manchester,
Tennessee.
“We’re working on better understanding mathematics and how
to teach mathematics so that we can support the learning of our students,” said
Angela Barlow, a professor and
director of the MTSU Mathematics and
Science Education Ph.D. program.
Part of that “better understanding mathematics” involves
taking risks. As Barlow explained, “we encourage students to take a risk in the
classroom to positively influence their academic achievement.”
“It’s risky to offer up your answers if you’re not sure if
you’re right or wrong,” said Crowder of Shelbyville, Tennessee. The second-year
workshop attendee is a kindergarten teacher at East Side Elementary School.
The children “will share their answer and defend it all the
way,” Crowder added. “You don’t need to squash their creativity.”
This method has made her “feel more confident in the math I
need to teach. It’s more facilitating and letting them come up with the
solution.”
They received daily risk statements from Barlow and her
leadership team.
While challenging, Amanda
Murdock, who teaches fifth-graders at Stewarts Creek Elementary in Smyrna,
Tennessee, has kept “an open mind to receiving ideas, learning new strategy and
seeing things from the perspective of a learner.”
Year 6, the final year, will find the teachers gravitating
to Project Impact-L, with the “L”
standing for legacy during a short miniconference.
“We’re excited about this opportunity to see them take
ownership of this project as they engage with peers in their school-based
teams,” Barlow said of the 2018 session. “They get to showcase their work to
other teachers in our area, highlighting the mathematical achievements of their
students.”
Barlow has accepted a position as dean of the University of
Central Arkansas Graduate School and director of the school’s Office of
Sponsored Programs in Conway, Arkansas. She plans to direct the final year of
the K-8 Summer Institute.
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