The Math Drexel Cultivating Teacher Use and Leadership This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DUE Presenters: Steve Weimar Wesley Shumar November 7, 2007 Contact:

The Math Drexel The Math Tools Experiment Build a “traditional” digital library in the Math Forum context where community had been the driver. Without funding for workshops. Attempt to draw users from existing communities and start new discussion forums to support teacher participation. (i.e. violate all the cherished assumptions)

The Math Drexel mathforum.org Why Would They Come? Technology as the answer to math blues: Approach standard topics in a new way Access to new concepts that are difficult Support different learning styles Become proficient with computers in math Develop concepts through many instances Make available a record of student thinking Sharing at a distance Selected resources grounded in classroom and expert experience

The Math Drexel mathforum.org MathTools Features 1.Detailed catalogue w/thumbnail, ratings, etc. 2.User guides 3.Lessons, activities 4.Discussions with colleagues and developers attached to items 5.Classroom Stories 6.TPoWs: Math problems via software 7.Newsletter

The Math Drexel mathforum.org We Couldn’t Help Ourselves Begin with the interactions: Host defining discussion forums, inviting leading users from other services to participate Conduct online and f2f development workshops bringing together software partners (Shodor, Nat’l Lib. Of Virtual Manipulatives, SRI, Texas Instruments, Key Curriculum Press) and leading teaching colleagues. Support emerging leaders with stipends and additional collaboration opportunities

The Math Drexel Site Statistics: 2005 vs Registered users: 9,076 vs. 19,359 Page views: 400,000/month vs. 600,000 Newsletter subscribers: 4,579 vs. 8,538 Discussions: 2,699 messages vs. 3,500 Catalogued resources: 3164 vs. 3,620 (English, Spanish, French, and German) Math Forum overall usage: 3 million+ visits/month, 10,000,000 page views/month

The Math Drexel Evolving Foci 1. What brings people? Novelty, Need, Search engines, Interesting stuff 2. What keeps people: Relevance/Fit, Responsiveness, Multiple levels of learning/challenge, Multiple levels of participation, new stuff 3. What drives learning? Trying things you don’t know how to do, Generating new questions, Practice, Using feedback/alternate perspectives, Reflecting, Using what you learn

The Math Drexel Goals of the Current Project Develop a local cadre of highly qualified middle school teacher leaders in technology integration from two urban areas. Secondly, support a high-needs group for the general population of teachers in the two urban areas. Thirdly, develop a set of online workshop and follow-up program for broad outreach and professional community development. All work will share the principle of long-term engagement that respond directly to needs and interests.

The Math Drexel Activities Two-hour onsite recruiting workshops Four-day f2f summer workshop for leaders School-year individualized implementation and school- based outreach Seven online six-week workshops. 13 Cohorts totaling 330 participants. A spinoff elementary workshop has had about 1,000 registrants with about 800 enrolled so far. Local staff developers brining their own cohorts Two-day summer outreach program for a wider audience of local teachers, also involving cultivated leaders Three-day materials development workshop with leaders selected from f2f and online participants

The Math Drexel Workshop Design Do math: structure the experience with a pedagogical content focus (algebraic reasoning) Use MathTools and compare math investigations with and without technology. Extend discussions and investigations using community functions in MathTools Create classroom plans/lessons using features within MathTools and wikis Introduce the Problems of the Week program and ways to have ongoing, “bite-size” integration of the DL with the classroom.

The Math Drexel mathforum.org Community - an outcome of the Math Forum Workshop Model Weave together the desired impacts: Building and enhancing the DL Teachers learning their craft Use in the classroom Students learning The emergent Math Forum model:

The Math Drexel mathforum.org Workshop Components to Balance Build a working community to share and advise Engage in the work of the discipline (do math) Learn the technologies Model and practice teaching with the DL Select and design resources and student programs

The Math Drexel Current Challenge-Scale The original Math Forum Model was very labor intensive on the part of a few. How to scale the current project with f2f and online workshops were teachers can do more of the facilitating for themselves? How to leverage the use of teachers as leaders in the community?

The Math Drexel Benefits & Losses Less staff time, primarily for initial development and managing cohorts, rather than instruction. More participants. More directed and less participant-centered. Less obvious complexity in thinking. Similar rates of emergent leaders but less commitment. Less “residue” for reuse and contribution by the wider community. Lower completion rates

The Math Drexel The Challenge for Leadership and Community The new “structured” workshops have been successful and might be a scalable model. They are less prone to be places where community and community leaders are born. Learning requires the facilitating presence of developed interest among the participants and celebration of risk-taking and progress. How to foster the community of support that the Math Forum has traditionally relied upon in the new model?