Math, Science and the Future of Our Nation

As a lover of  Mathematics I encourage all to particpate in this online discussion. Math and Science are critical for our children's existence. If you don't believe so,  just visit Connect a Million Minds.

Al Gore to Host Global Online Town Hall on Math and Science Education

On November 17, 2010, at 12 p.m. ET, Time Warner Cable (TWC) will host a live interactive online town hall called “Math, Science and the Future of Our Nation,” hosted by former Vice President Al Gore. The town hall will connect young people from the U.S. with students from around the world, and include two internationally known science and technology leaders—inventor Dean Kamen and astronaut Sally Ride. The discussion will focus on attitudes among American youth toward math and science, and how to inspire and motivate them so they will be successful in a competitive global marketplace.

Members of the public can join the town hall online, where they can also submit live video questions and comments from anywhere in the world in real time. Simultaneous “viewing parties” are also being planned in 16 TWC markets across the country. Connect a Million Minds (CAMM) is TWC’s philanthropic initiative involving science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Today is the First Day...

Yesterday I held a department meeting excited to introduce the latest tool I have come upon, “Success at the Core”. This is a great website that offers video footage of Professional Learning Communities in action. Absolutely fabulous! You get the opportunity to witness research-based methods and best practices right in the classroom.

Since we are in the process of creating common assessments in the Math and Science Department I decided to work through the Common Assessment Module with the department. So I start the discussion, explain the excitement behind “Success at the Core”, roll the video…and dialogue, right?

I see blank faces just looking at me as if to suggest, “What’s next!” I ask, “Does anyone wish to make any comments about a strategy seen in the video that we might be able to implement or utilize?” A comment here and a comment there and more silence than anything else. I rephrase my questioning and get a few more responses here and there, then realize it’s time to dismiss and regroup. Then that glimmer of hope shines through! A new teacher thinking she hasn’t been at this teaching thing long enough to “verbalize” her thoughts, gives me three written pages of comments and suggestions from the video.

My immediate thought, “Still have to work on the department culture, she was afraid to speak out.” My immediate action, I grabbed a few teachers to ask, why the silence? The responses, “We get it but we are spent”, “Paperwork, documentation, it’s taking its toll on us”, “With all the external forces looking down on us the joy of teaching is now stress, it’s not you.", "Christie’s disdain of the education system, State agencies on our backs, budget cuts on all levels, district wants and wishes…stress!” I feel as if I just ran up against the “Buffer” in full effect (read Results Now by Michael Schmoker)!

Yes! Today is the first day in my nine years of being an educator that I felt I am working at a job and not working at my passion. I still believe collaboration and quality teaching makes the difference. I still support and believe in PLCs; just got hit with a reality check that change takes time... How much time?!

Effective Teachers and Effective Teaching

I had the pleasure of attending the NJPSA/FEA/NJASCD 2010 Fall Conference October 20th. The Keynote Speaker, Professor James H. Stronge, made a statement that I have verbalized many times- “Teaching is Rocket Science”. He proclaimed that most effective teachers change their instructional strategies several times during the course of a lesson. I suggest that the changes in instructional strategies are not just methods utilized to engage students but in large part utilized because the teachers are adamant about the students “getting it”.

Is it that these teachers are passionate about their work and the responsibilities of their job; that is the job of infusing knowledge? Is it that these teachers, classified as “effective” have been blessed with the gift of knowing exactly what each child needs? Have these “effective” teachers honed their craft through professional growth opportunities and administrative support? Or, is it all of the above?

Research suggests that teacher quality is positively correlated to student achievement. The major issue remains what variables constitute “teacher quality”. Whatever the answer, one thing is for sure, the effects of having a good teacher versus a bad teacher is enormous. As Dr. Stronge referenced, “It’s the difference between dropping out and going to Harvard”.

Consider the study comparing two groups of Dallas students. Each group started at relatively the same level of math achievement in the 3rd grade (Graph 1.) Three years later, Group 1 drastically outperformed Group 2. The reason: Group 1 received instruction from three “effective” teachers compared to Group 2 having received instruction from three “ineffective” teachers.

Graph 1.

Source: Heather Jordan, Robert Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, The Effects of Teachers on Longitudinal Student Achievement, 1997.

This same study revealed that effective teachers turned previously low-performing Dallas 4th graders into high performing 7th graders.

Imagine the excitement I felt sitting there. I was thinking, "If we could just get all teachers to be effective teachers!" Heads nodded all around the room suggesting agreement and buy-in. Not a second later an administrator in the audience said, "Doesn't teacher comfort with content also matter here? I have seen many teachers take time away from math content to focus on Language Arts because they are more confident in the content." Stronge commented that Language Arts (reading and writing) can be more readily learned outside of the classroom/school setting and that math tends to be more complex and can require additional supports. Was this administrator onto something? Was she suggesting that teachers might be more effective if they taught to their strength in content area? I have heard many elementary teachers profess to love one content over another, even as they are saddled with teaching the four core areas. This is an issue we have yet to weigh in on in my district; as our math scores tend to remain flat - Departmentalization of Mathematics. Just thinking, "Would departmentalization of Mathematics at the elementary grades make the teachers more effective, thus positively affecting student math achievement?"

I'm Back

After more than a year of not posting, I'm back and still totally committed to helping my teachers improve their teaching techniques. I completed some schooling of my own during the time I was away; forever learning as I always state. Additionally, some major changes have occurred in education on several levels. District wise our school principal retired and we patiently awaited his replacement, state wise Common Core State Standards were adopted for Math and Language Arts, and federally we said goodbye to No Child Left Behind and continue to argue about the fairness of Race to the Top.


What is the correct change for education and how should we go about the change in education? That will always be one of opinion for the scholars and politicians to argue. As an educator, let’s just say that change is needed. My request of my teachers, of all teachers, is to sit down and do some real self-reflection and analysis as it relates to your skills. The essential question: What pedagogical qualities do you bring to your classroom and where can they physically be seen?

I attended several workshops this summer on Professional Learning Communities, Mentoring/Coaching, and Technology for Teaching for the exact purpose of assisting my teachers to answer the essential question above. Teaching is so much more than just a noble profession; it's an awesome responsibility! That responsibility has life long implications for its subjects, our students. Therefore, approach teaching with dignity. You hold the key to making a difference.