- Year 2017
- NSF Noyce Award # 1557255
- First Name Cynthia
- Last Name Anhalt
- Discipline Math
- Co-PI(s)
Rebecca McGraw, The University of Arizona, rmgraw@math.arizona.edu
Jennifer Eli, The University of Arizona, jeli@math.arizona.edu
Marta Civil, The University of Arizona, civil@math.arizona.edu - Presenters
Jorge Stimans, The University of Arizona, Noyce Scholar, jorgestimans@email.arizona.edu
Gerardo Lopez, The University of Arizona, Noyce Scholar, glopez35@email.arizona
Cynthia Anhalt, The University of Arizona, PI, canhalt@math.arizona.edu
Need
The topic of teacher preparation for teaching mathematics to culturally diverse student populations is at the heart of preparing teaching for future generations. Our student demographics are rapidly changing toward more diversity across schools in the United States, and it is essential that our future teachers are prepared to work with all students to help them learn mathematics to their potential to enrich their lives with fulfilling careers and opportunities in a technologically advancing world. The Standards for Preparing Teaching of Mathematics (Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, 2017) points the mathematics education community to prepare teachers toward reaching all K-12 students with creative, enriching, and worthwhile mathematics that teaches problem solving and innovation. To prepare the best possible mathematics teachers for all of our youth in schools today will prepare a better future for our society.
Goals
One main goal of the AZ Mathematics Teaching (MaTh) Program is to prepare future mathematics teachers for excellence in teaching and working with ethnically and linguistically diverse students, in AZ and nationwide. In order to recruit undergraduate students to consider secondary mathematics teaching as a viable and engaging career choice, the AZ Noyce MaTh Program aims at recruitment of students to engage in activities related to teaching, such as becoming a Noyce Tutor in local schools, serve as a Noyce After School Program Leader in a culturally diverse middle school, and become an Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UTAs) in mathematics courses at the University of AZ.
Approach
The main goal of preparing future mathematics teachers for excellence in teaching and working with ethnically and linguistically diverse students is being achieved through collaborative work in re-examining and enriching our courses for our undergraduate mathematics majors. The enrichment consists of projects that address cultural diversity in the courses by utilizing contexts that are culturally relevant for curriculum development and designing teaching strategies that encourages all students to participate in mathematics. This project involves a community which we call the ?AZ Noyce Community? which includes the Noyce Scholars, Interns, and faculty, staff, and a graduate student whom all contribute to the success of carrying out the goals of the AZ Noyce Program.
Outcomes
Outcomes of the AZ Noyce Programs include awareness and hands-on learning experiences for mathematics preservice teachers about student diversity and learning needs through internships such as leadership roles in the Noyce After School Program, tutoring in local schools, and serving as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) for mathematics courses. Key deliverables include Noyce Scholars and Interns sharing culturally-enriching experiences in working with diverse students to better prepare in becoming teachers of mathematics. We plan to develop curriculum that incorporates Ladson-Billings? Culturally Relevant Teaching (CRT) tenets in mathematics pedagogy courses to better prepare preservice teachers to design rigorous and relevant lessons during their field practicum experiences. This curriculum development will enrich the AZ Secondary Mathematics Education Program coursework and make our program more relevant and current in delivering excellence in teacher preparation.
Broader Impacts
The focus of the AZ MaTh program on preparing teachers to develop mathematically rich experiences for all their students, and in particular for culturally and language diverse students, is at the core of its broader impacts. The program has begun to impact a community of mathematics faculty, mathematics education faculty, undergraduate students, and teachers and students in the Tucson community, in a collective effort to prepare high-quality math teachers for high-needs diverse populations. The courses, Noyce Seminars, and Noyce internship activities associated with the teacher preparation program are including more readings, projects and lesson preparation in mathematics with a focus on inclusion of culturally diverse student interests in various community contexts. In our first year of the AZ Noyce Program, we are building community knowledge among the Noyce Scholars and Interns by sharing and implementing the work of the Noyce Scholars and Interns with the partner mentor teachers.
