Massachusetts MSP Intensive Immersion Institute I 3 Presented by Claire Abrams and Andrew Chen Lowell Public Schools and EduTron Corp., Massachusetts 2008

Massachusetts MSP

Intensive Immersion Institute I3 Presented by

Claire Abrams and Andrew Chen Lowell Public Schools and EduTron Corp., Massachusetts

2008 MSP Regional MeetingJanuary 8, 2008 Miami Florida

Intensive Immersion Institute Lowell, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, EduTron, M.I.T., Fitchburg State College MSP 1/08/2008 Miami, FL 1

Massachusetts MSP

Intensive Immersion Institute I3 Two MSP Partnerships:• Intensive Immersion Institutes in Mathematics for

Grades 4-8 Teachers• School-Based Intensive Immersion Intervention

Seven Partners: • Lowell, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, EduTron

Corporation, M.I.T., Fitchburg State College


Main Ingredients of Intensive Immersion Institute (I3)

• Highly Optimized Courses: Based on Detailed Pretest Analyses

• Intensive Immersion: Work on World-class Problems (Rich, Challenging, Multi-tiered)

• High Intensity Collegial Interaction: Model Standards-based Instruction

• Just-in-time Compact Lectures on Demand• Depth + Active Learning

3Intensive Immersion Institute Lowell, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, EduTron, M.I.T., Fitchburg State College MSP 1/08/2008 Miami, FL

Sample Problems

• A salesman sold 2 refrigerators for $600 each. The first was sold at a 25% profit while the second was sold at a 25% loss. Find his net profit or loss.

• One interior angle of a convex polygon is 140 degrees. The rest of the interior angles of the polygon are each 100 degrees. How many sides does the polygon have?


Sample Problem

Problem 2. The vertices of a triangle are A(-5, 5), B(4, 4) and C(-6, -4).

a)Find the slope of each side of the triangle.

b)Is the triangle a right triangle?

c)Find the area of the triangle.

d)Show (prove) that the three perpendicular bisectors of this triangle meet at a common point.


Assessments

• WIDE SPECTRUM OF PARTICIPANTS’ BACKGROUND

• OPEN RESPONSE• DETAILED DIAGNOSTICS

– Example: Monitors 72 Knowledge Atoms with 17 Problems


Sample Pretest Problem

4. Sort these numbers from the smallest to the largest:

11. (a) Solve 7 – 3x < 21. (b) Represent the solution of the inequality on a

number line.








DETAILED REPORTS

• DUAL-CATEGORY FINE-GRAINED REPORTING• VALUABLE FOR INSTRUCTORS AS DATA TO

GUIDE INSTRUCTIONS (differentiation)• VALUABLE FOR INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANTS AS

ROADMAP AND MOTIVATOR TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES




HIGHLY OPTIMIZED COURSES

• TOPICS TARGET NEEDS• MULTIPLE INSTRUCTORS• PARALLEL SESSIONS WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS

AND TOPICS AS ELECTIVES• ADJUSTMENTS BASED ON ONGOING (EMAIL)

FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPANTS


IMPROVEMENTS IN CONTENT KNOWLEDGE






IMPROVEMENTS IN CLASSROOM PRACTICE


Improvement in Classroom Practice

• “…more confident…”• “…listening to students more…” • “…dare to push students harder…”• “…become more empathetic towards

students’ learning struggle…”• “…life-changing experience…”


• “Your classes are engaging and fun, and I try to bring that same attitude into my own classes. There is value in seeing multiple approaches to the same problem, so I try to let the students explain to each other. I can let this happen because I am not struggling with my own understanding.”


• “I was made to look at learning math through the eyes of a student, a student who is uncomfortable with the information, like when you made us add, subtract and multiply fractions and decimals in the base-4 system.”


• “It is one thing to be able to teach people mathematics. It is something entirely different to be able to help people understand mathematics enough to realize how much we do not understand, giving us all a reason to want to continue with this learning process. “


“Last night I felt I went full circle and for the first time truly conceptually understood the why of the Distance formulas, midpoint formulas and Pythagoras. Actually they are not even formulas to me anymore cause I can identify the why in all of it. Unbelievable! I know I have made such progress and can’t wait to make more. ”


IMPROVEMENTS IN STUDENT PERFORMANCE





PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

COMMUNITIES


Formation of Professional Learning Communities

• In addition to the measurable content gains, the chemistry, dynamics, and positive peer pressure fostered in the intensive immersion experience has triggered certain qualitative changes in individual teachers to such an extent that some of them have become catalysts to transform their local math community into a learning machine. These transformations are playing a pivotal role in sustaining peer-based learning beyond the project span.

• “We are much further along as a community of learners and teachers due to the MMSP project!”

-- MS Mathematics Specialist, Lowell Public Schools


The instructional practices and assessments discussed or shown in these presentations are not intended as an endorsement by the

U.S. Department of Education".

Documents

Massachusetts MSP Intensive Immersion Institute I 3 Presented by Claire Abrams and Andrew Chen Lowell Public Schools and EduTron Corp., Massachusetts 2008