Press conference scheduled Oct. 28 to announce details of multi-tiered, job-embedded mathematics professional development project for teachers

A press conference is scheduled on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. in the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District #25 Board Room.

Dr. Cory Bennett, ISU Regional Mathematics Center Director, along with Debbie Critchfield of the Idaho State Board of Education; Jan Harwood, Pocatello/Chubbuck School District Secondary Director and mathematics advisor; and teachers JoAnn Huber and Carri Thomason, Pocatello/Chubbuck School District #25 math coaches, will present information on how the project’s goals of building capacity of teachers translates into improved mathematics instruction and success of students.

The Idaho State University Regional Mathematics Center, based in the ISU College of Education, has partnered with Pocatello/Chubbuck School District #25 to provide a multi-tiered, job-embedded mathematics professional development project for elementary, middle, and high school teachers. This project is based on teachers’ expressed needs to further develop their mathematical content knowledge as well as gain focused and timely instructional support in their classrooms.

The goals for this project are to deepen teachers’ mathematics content knowledge, create a deeper understanding of the progression of mathematics from kindergarten through algebra, align mathematics content knowledge to effective instruction, and develop school-level mathematics coaches to create internal support for the teaching mathematics. Idaho State University Teacher Education assistant professor, Dr. Cory Bennett says, “By helping teachers to further develop their mathematical understanding and improve their instructional practices, teachers will be better able to help students be more successful in mathematics.”

Personnel from the Idaho State University Regional Mathematics Center will provide nearly 500 hours of support through one-on-one coaching with teachers, half-day content-based courses for all kindergarten through eighth grade and algebra teachers, an intensive Mathematics Coaching course to develop school-level instructional support in mathematics, and a Professional Learning Community video study examining evidence of student mathematics learning.

The Idaho State University Regional Mathematics Center is funded through a grant from the Idaho State Department of Education and provides free mathematics support to all K-12 public school teachers, schools, and districts in Regions 4, 5, and 6. The nature of this free and focused support includes in-class feedback and modeling of lessons, school-wide workshops, Professional Learning Community guidance, and continuing education credit courses for re-certification and district-wide conferences.

To contact the ISU Regional Mathematics Center, Dr. Cory A. Bennett, Director or Melissa Myers, Program Coordinator call (208) 282-3674 or email irmc@isu.edu. For more information visit ed.isu.edu/irmc.