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Annual Report Activities and Findings
Project Activities - Overview
The four-and-one-half year Colorado Mathematics Middle School Teacher Enhancement Project (COMMSTEP) was funded to support 330 teachers in 44 Colorado schools for professional development and implementation of standards-based instruction and assessment through the use of exemplary NSF-funded middle school mathematics instructional materials. This Local Systemic Change through Teacher Enhancement in Mathematics, Grades 7-12, project builds upon the successful work of the Colorado Statewide Systemic Initiative and TEAM 2000, a high school teacher enhancement project. To date COMMSTEP has supported over 500 teachers.
Major components on the program include (1) examination and selection of materials, choosing from among Connected Mathematics Program (CMP), MathScape: Seeing and Thinking Mathematically and Mathematics in Context; (2) annual summer institutes; (3) monthly or quarterly workshops; and (4) monthly meetings with COMMSTEP teacher mentors.
Over the life of the project, the entire mathematics faculties in partnering middle schools participate in COMMSTEP. Sixth-grade teachers attend a two-week summer institute followed by nine monthly school-year workshops, and fully implement their school's chosen instructional materials during their first year of participation. Seventh- and eighth-grade teachers phase in their school's materials over a two-year period. These teachers attend one-week summer institutes followed by four quarterly school-year workshops for two years. All middle grades teachers receive two years of workshop and mentor support.
In addition to the required LSC core evaluation, the project collects two other important kinds of data: (1) student achievement data and (2) data that describe district capacity to support high quality mathematics curriculum and teaching (e.g., district capacity to support reform-oriented classroom practices), comparing COMMSTEP schools/districts with other school districts.
Summary of major activities and accomplishments
- COMMSTEP conducts monthly workshops throughout the school year. Workshops are conducted on Thursday and repeated the following Saturday. Cohort 2 teachers began Summer 2000 and Cohort 3 teachers began Summer 2001.
| Date
|
# Teachers
|
Grades |
Cohort
|
Focus
|
| Thursday, November 15, 2001
|
82 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
# Sense & NCTM PSSM |
| Saturday, November 17, 2001
|
85 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
# Sense w/ Ruth Parker |
| Thursday, December 6, 2001
|
50 |
6 |
3 |
Proportional Reasoning |
| Saturday, December 8, 2001
|
36 |
6 |
3 |
Proportional Reasoning |
| Thursday, January 10, 2002
|
37 |
6 |
3 |
Rat. Number Computation |
| Saturday, January 12, 2002
|
36 |
6 |
3 |
Rat. Number Computation |
| Thursday, January 24, 2002
|
70 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Assessment & Grading |
| Saturday, January 26, 2002
|
35 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Assessment & Grading |
| Thursday, February 7, 2002
|
173 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
Alg Thinking w/ Ruth Parker |
| Saturday, February 9, 2002
|
43 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
Algebraic Thinking |
| Thursday, March 7, 2002
|
30 |
6 |
3 |
Geom & Eff. Lesson Comp. |
| Saturday, March 9, 2002
|
33 |
6 |
3 |
Geom & Eff. Lesson Comp. |
| Saturday, March 16, 2002
|
41 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
Probability and Questioning |
| Thursday, April 11, 2002
|
104 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
#, Similarity, Function & Tech |
| Saturday, April 13, 2002
|
60 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
#, Similarity, Function & Tech |
| Thursday, May 2, 2002
|
48 |
6 |
3 |
Probability & Goal Setting |
| Saturday, May 4, 2002
|
22 |
6 |
3 |
Probability & Goal Setting |
| Thursday, May 9, 2002
|
45 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
3-D Geom & Equity |
| Saturday, May 11, 2002
|
30 |
6, 7 & 8 |
2 |
3-D Geom & Equity |
| Thursday, September 19, 2002
|
87 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
Algebra & Coop. Groups |
| Saturday, September 21, 2002
|
58 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
Algebra & Coop. Groups |
| Thursday, November 14, 2002
|
75 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
Math Proficiency & Grading |
| Saturday, November 16, 2002
|
60 |
6, 7 & 8 |
3 |
Math Proficiency & Grading |
- COMMSTEP's 2002 Summer Institutes were held June 17-21, 2002 and August 5-9, 2002. The summer institutes focus on units specific to curricula supported by the project. Teachers are assigned to grade-level, curriculum-specific groups.
| Date
|
# Teachers
|
Grade Levels |
Curriculum
|
Cohort
|
| June 17-21, 2002
|
94 |
6, 7 & 8 |
CMP, MiC & MathScape |
3 |
| August 5-9, 2002
|
114 |
6, 7 & 8 |
CMP |
3 & New Hires |
- COMMSTEP collaborated with the Front Range Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) to provide a summer institute for teachers new to teaching the Connected Mathematics Program August 5-9, 2002. Based upon the success of the institute the BOCES has requested COMMSTEP consider offering another institute August 2003.
- COMMSTEP partnered with the K-12 Mathematics Curriculum Center at the Education Development Center in Newton, Massachusetts to offer an "Implementing Your New Curriculum" seminar in Denver, November 6-8, 2002. Eighty participants attended representing school districts in Colorado, Delaware, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Washington and the Navajo Nation and Tribal College Rural Systemic Initiatives.
- COMMSTEP contracted with the Mid-continent Research for Evaluation and Learning (McREL) to complete the student achievement research study required of all Local Systemic Change projects by the National Science Foundation. The first round of student assessment results from the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) has been analyzed and is reported in the "Project Findings" section of this report. (The complete report is provided in the Appendix.)
- COMMSTEP Leadership Team members have made presentations outlining project activities and studies to the Denver Area Superintendents Study Council (DASSC) Curriculum and Instruction Learning Network (CILN) and to the Colorado Mathematics Leaders Network.
- An annual fall mentor retreat provides opportunities to continue the growth of a cohesive COMMSTEP mentor team, to deepen understanding of and refine project components, and to establish school-year goals.
- The COMMSTEP Leadership Team met monthly during the 2001-02 school year and will meet quarterly during the 2002-03 school year. Additional meetings are scheduled as needed.
- Dr. James Loats, COMMSTEP Co-Principal Investigator, is on leave from Metropolitan State College of Denver to work with the Denver Public Schools (DPS) mathematics department and the newly-funded NSF Comprehensive Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP). Ms Jean Bradac, COMMSTEP mentor, and Ms Julie Murgel, COMMSTEP mathematics teacher, facilitated the development of the DPS's Connected Mathematics implementation schedule.
- Westview Middle School, a COMMSTEP partner school in the St. Vrain Valley School District, has been selected by Michigan State University as one of its pilot schools for the revised Connected Mathematics Program. All mathematics teachers at Westview are COMMSTEP project teachers, and one teacher is a COMMSTEP Summer Institute instructor.
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