Workshop

CIME - The Mathematical Education of Teachers - Workshop 8, May 2011 The workshop will begin at 4:00 PM on Wednesday May 11 and end at 7:00 PM on Friday, May 13. Please see the schedule posted below for details or the detailed entire "Schedule.pdf". Video from the workshop may be viewed on the: Video page. This will be the eighth workshop in the CIME series. Two previous workshops have focused on issues related to educating teachers of mathematics. The second workshop addressed the mathematical knowledge needed for teaching, and the fourth workshop emphasized teaching teachers mathematics. The Critical Issues series returns to the topic of educating teachers of mathematics because: ·         The Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted by most states, present both a challenge to ensure that the nation’s teachers are prepared to teach to high standards and an opportunity to seek common standards for educating the next generation of teachers. ·         It is appropriate to examine what has been learned from ongoing initiatives and research. For example, both NSF and the U.S. Department of Education have made a substantial and sustained investment in Math Science Partnerships. ·         The Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences has launched an initiative to revisit and update their publication, The Mathematical Education of Teachers. ·         Now more than ever, there is a need for an active, vibrant, interdisciplinary community that will drive a cycle of improvement in both the teaching of mathematics at all levels (elementary school to collegiate education) and knowledge about mathematics teaching. These questions will guide the workshop design: What are implications of the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics for the mathematical education of teachers? What has been learned about the mathematical education of teachers, both future teachers and current teachers, over the past decade? How can we encourage, develop and sustain an interdisciplinary community of mathematics educators and scholars, including teachers, mathematicians, mathematics educators, and education researchers, in such a way that different communities communicate with and learn from each other, and, in so doing, drive a cycle of improvement in the teaching of mathematics at all levels? The audience for the workshop includes mathematicians, mathematics educators, classroom teachers and education researchers who are concerned with improving the teaching of mathematics and, in particular, the mathematical education of teachers. The workshop will showcase materials and successful teacher education programs, examine the Common Core State Standards and its implications, and explore how mathematics education research can improve practice. MSRI and the workshop organizers are especially interested in encouraging mathematicians to participate actively in this workshop and to become engaged in the community of scholars working to improve mathematics teaching and especially the mathematical education of teachers.