B. Abstract
Creating a Network of Educators to Communicate about Teaching Math (CNECT-Math) is a partnership among United Technologies Center, Old Town School Department, University of Maine Farmington (UMF), and Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance (MMSA). For the past three years the Old Town School Department, along with other Maine school districts, UMF, and MMSA have been working collaboratively in a partnership through a Title II project. The creation of a new partnership which includes the United Technology Center is looked upon as natural and desirable. CNECT goals are to 1) refine a model of professional development to improve teachers’ knowledge and instructional skills in the area of data analysis and statistics, 2) build capacity for lateral collaboration in a Regional Learning Community, and 3) improve student achievement in the areas of data analysis and statistics.
Data analysis and statistics content sessions for teachers and initial leadership training will be provided in August. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) of career/technology, high school, and middle school teachers will meet to continue content focused conversations including examining how students learn and research on student misconceptions. The PLC sessions will be used to make connections among content knowledge, standards, research, and classroom practice with each teacher developing a lesson for others to review and discuss. Near the end of the school year a final one day session will provide an avenue for reflection and planning for Year 2. An outside evaluator will examine the effectiveness of the CNECT—Math model and progress towards meeting project outcomes.
