GSE to help teachers with math class

In conjunction with two other universities, the Graduate School of Education is participating in a program aimed at improving mathematics instruction in urban schools.

The initiative, dubbed "MetroMath," was created in partnership with Rutgers University and the City University of New York Graduate Center and has received a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The program is aimed at improving teachers' classroom instruction.

"There is a tremendous need for math education," MetroMath Executive Director Joyce Leslie said. "The need to be sophisticated mathematically is no longer an option."

The program will offer teachers a wide range of research-based resources and opportunities to improve their instructing skills, including multiyear seminars and mentored internships.

"We're developing a cohesive agenda of professional education programs," Leslie said. "We're focusing on how we can get the teachers the tools they need" to augment their instructing abilities.

According to GSE assistant professor and MetroMath Co-Principal Investigator Janine Remillard, Penn's relationship with Rutgers spurred the University's involvement in the math project.

During the initial development of MetroMath, "there was already a strong link between cognitive scientists [at Penn] and those at Rutgers," Remillard said. "That's where the link started."

A number of Penn affiliates have contributed to MetroMath's early development, including Math professor Dennis DeTurck and Christine Massey, co-director of PENNlincs -- a University institute for research in cognitive science.

Remillard noted graduate school students as the largest Penn group participating in MetroMath.

"We're hoping that it will attract graduate students who have interest in mathematics and urban education outside of Penn," Remillard said.

However, other Penn affiliates and students are encouraged to participate as well, with MetroMath activities "by no means based for just GSE students."

In addition to University programs and research, the initiative calls for community involvement.

Specifically, MetroMath will prompt parents to take an active role in the math education of their children.

According to Remillard, the role of the parents and community in math learning is currently being uncovered through research.

"Several of us who are already in the center are involved in research examining the parent's role in their children's learning," Remillard said. We are "examining ways that mathematical learning happens in schools, in homes and on streets."

Through this research, Remillard hopes to "create a link between in-school math and out-of-school math through curriculum development."

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