TGC Monthly August 2015

IN THIS ISSUE:Student Spotlight:Homer ColungaWISD Teacher

La Joya ISD Recognizes 2nd Year GEM Camp for Girls

TEXAS GRADUATE CENTER

TheThe

of Teachingof Teachingphilosophyphilosophy

August 2015

2 | Texas GraduaTe CenTer

Monthly

PresidentDr. Roland Arriola

executive directorDr. Mary Alice Reyes

AssociAte director/ editorAdriana V. Lopez

designer/ PHotogrAPHer David Alvarado

tgc oFFices1098 W. Expressway 83

Mercedes, Texas78570

The Texas Graduate Center (TGC), a component of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation, has been established to support programs in higher education that will guide new and emerging leaders in education to implement transformational change that will impact schools and communities. TGC will offer distance learning graduate programs from outstanding universities in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The TGC will make available the latest telepresence technology and virtual classrooms with direct connection to world-class undergraduate and graduate programs from across the country. TGC will also serve as a college and career readiness facilitator offering assistance in selecting, preparing and enrolling in nationally recognized graduate programs.

AboUT US:

annenburg hall,harvard university TEXAS

GRADUATE CENTER

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

04 Student Spotlight: Homer ColungaThe Texas Graduate Center would like to congratulate Homer Colunga, Harvard graduate student and Cohort II member, for being awarded the position of Health Science Small Learning Community Coordinator for Weslaco Independent School District.

06 La Joya ISD Recognizes GEM Camp GirlsThis year’s GEM camp targeting rising 4th and 5th grade girls in La Joya ISD. The participants were presented with a certificate of participation by the La Joya ISD School Board.

10 The Philosphy of TeachingThis summer, Cohort I completed their final summer residency at Harvard. Their final course was a Teaching Projects/Capstone Course intended to give current and aspiring secondary math teachers an opportunity to become engaged in a variety of teaching-related projects.

In this issue...

Harvard UniversityExtension School

The Texas Graduate Center has partnered with the

Harvard University Extension School to

implement the Math for Teaching Graduate

Program. Harvard Extension School is one

of the twelve degree-granting schools of Harvard

University, offering professional certificates

and liberal arts-based undergraduate and

graduate degree programs aimed at nontraditional

students, as well as open-enrollment continuing

education courses.

Marvelia Balboa is originally from Mat-amoros, Mexico but has lived most of her life in San Benito, Texas. From a very young age Marvelia showed a passion for knowledge. Her love for mathemat-ics and desire to teach others motivated her to earn her Bachelors of Science in Mathematics with Secondary Certi-fication. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Texas-Pan American in the Spring of 2011. Knowing the impact her community had on her education, Marve-lia decided to begin her teaching journey at her high school alma mater, San Benito High School.

August 2015


Student Spotlight:Homer ColungaWISD Teacher

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

The Texas Graduate Center would like to congratulate Homer Colunga, Harvard graduate student and Cohort II member,

for being awarded the position of Health Science Small Learning Community Coordinator for Wesla-co Independent School District. This learning com-munity provides students an opportunity to expe-rience the world of medicine through a sequence of health science courses where students gain ex-perience working with medical equipment as well as exposure to professionals in the medical field. Many students earn an industry certification in a re-lated medical field and have the tools necessary to start a career outside of high school.

As the Coordinator for the learning community, Mr. Colunga now oversees all of the teachers that per-tain to this community as well as all of the students that fall under this school within a school. Along with his role as a mathematics teacher with Wesla-co ISD, he will now coordinate events related to the Health Science Small Learning Community for both students and their families in an effort to provide a source of reference for all of the opportunities available to students. Mr. Colunga is also a South Texas College Dual Enrollment Faculty Member as well as an NHS Sponsor for Weslaco ISD.

August 2015


LA JOYA ISDrecOgnIzeS gem cAmp fOr gIrLS

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

L a Joya ISD School Board recognized participants in this summer’s Girls Engaged in Mathematics Camp (GEM). This year’s GEM camp targeted rising

4th and 5th grade girls in La Joya ISD. The participants were presented with a certificate of participation by the La Joya ISD School Board. Dr. Alda Benavides, La Joya ISD Superintendent, commended the girls on their hard work and encouraged them to continue to strive towards excellence in math.

Master of Science in Biology for Teachers• Earn a Master of Science degree in two years (online and 3-week summer

residencies)

• Learn from renowned life science faculty at Washington University St. Louis, one of the most prominent research universities in the country.

• Participate in action research and laboratory work in state-of-the-art research facilities on campus and within the city of St. Louis.

• Participate in professional networks with teachers from across the country.

• Develop and apply skills in curriculum innovation.

Texas Graduate Center is a public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation.1098 W. Expressway 83, Mercedes, TX 78570 | 956.903.4231 | [email protected]

STarTS July 2016

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

Girls EnGaGEd in MathEMatics is a public-privatE initiativE of thE tExas vallEy coMMunitiEs foundation

GIRLS ENGAGED IN MATHEMATICS

Building CONFIDENCE and reducing MATH ANXIETYThe notion that only boys can become scientists and engineers has persisted over time. Studies have shown that negative stereotypes about girls’ abilities in mathematics and science have impacted their performance in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and math) areas.

to schEdulE a GEM caMp at your school, contact: Executive Director, Dr. Mary Alice Reyes956.903.4231 | [email protected]

August 2015


A s a student of mathematics I have seen oodles of things. I have seen the many under-

lying connections between different math courses; I have seen different les-sons in mathematics presented in a va-riety of ways; I have collaborated with teachers from all around the world on math pedagogy; I have researched causes of, and strategies to help alle-viate, math anxiety in the classroom; I have attended numerous amounts of professional development training geared towards helping teachers be-come better teachers; I have pushed myself day in and day out to under-stand the “why” in mathematics . and despite all the things that I have seen, done and/or studied, I have come to realize that I still know very little about the best way to teach mathematics.However, what I have seen and learned is what mathematics is and what math-

ematics is not. Mathematics is not just arithmetic computations; it is not memorization and rote recitation; mathematics is not innate; nor is it se-lecting the best answer from choices a,B,C, and d; mathematics is not what a textbook portrays it to be.Mathematics involves creativity, effort, posing questions, investigating and in-terpreting results allowing us to find the hidden patterns that enable us to better understand the world around us. To Teach mathematics, we must understand mathematics. Teaching math can be one of the important sources of inspiration for our students and I believe the best way to teach mathematics is to never stop searching for the best way to teach mathematics; never stop trying new things. Failures will come, but like edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

This summer, Cohort I completed their final summer residency at Harvard. Their final course was a Teaching Projects/Capstone Course intended to give current and aspiring secondary math teachers an opportunity to become engaged in a variety of teaching-related projects. Students completed a series of research and presentation requirements during the course focused on issues such as the impact of various pedagogical approaches, the use of technology in classrooms, assessment techniques, and curriculum design, among other topics. The Capstone Course was led by Dr. Andy Engelward, director of the Math for Teaching graduate program. All students were required to write a teaching statement outlining their experience and philosophy on their profession. This is the first of a series of statements we’d like to share.

JUAN R. BARRERA III PSJA ISD

The

of Teachingphilosophy

...The besT way To Teach [maTh]

is To never sTop searching

for The besT way To Teach maThemaTics;

never sTop Trying new

Things.

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

August 2015


W hile I have only been teach-ing for the past four years, there are so many things

that have changed in my perspective of mathematical learning. although I have always done what I thought was best for my students, I have come to re-alize that this idea can lead to a slippery slope where good intentions can cause irrevocable damage. Therefore, as a teacher I must be in a constant cycle of self-reflection in order to improve my ways of teaching. Yet, the biggest dis-advantage that I face when I walk into a room full of students is the apathy they have towards mathematics, though I cannot blame them for harboring such emotions because they have been taught everything but what mathemat-ics truly is. For instance, memorizing is not learning. The confusion between the two is probably the biggest obstacle to learning mathematics. When defining what it means to truly understand mathematics we must be careful. Many students claim to have learned mathematics, but really they have learned how to apply an algorithm and have no conceptual understanding of why and when to use that particular algorithm. This is why when we ask students who have passed a course in algebra what a logarithmic function is, we often receive a blank stare, yet many students can solve logarithmic equations. This clearly highlights one

of the major weakneses in the current teaching of mathematics since students have little or no idea of what they are learning. This is because a student who does well on tests but doesn’t know any mathematics has learned a skill. This could be because it is easier to test memorization rather than learn-ing, which has caused students to pre-fer classes where memorization is key for success—but this is not learning. When you learn something, you do not forget it. You forget things that are memorized. For example, you do not memorize how to ride a bike, you learn how to ride a bike and never forget. We are missing the whole point of mathematics education since it is taught as a skill that must be practiced regularly or else it will easily be forgot-ten. Instead, as a teacher, my goal is for my students to have confidence in their ability to learn to think rationally and clearly organize ideas to accurately apply concepts. In other words, I want them to have the ability to face an un-known concept without fear because they have acquired the traits needed to do mathematics rather than mimic mathematics. not only will this give them confidence but it will create active learners who will not passively accept new information but rather question and make well-informed decisions. I am fully conscious that mathematics provides techniques to solve particular kinds of problems, which is import-ant to know, yet, it is unfortunate that courses in mathematics give a lot of time and sometimes only time to the mastering of such techniques. Just like the dictionary is not literature, knowing algorithms is not mathematics. What happens to understanding mathemati-cal concepts? as a teacher, I must be able to gauge at a balance between the two in order to stress critical thinking, problem solving and more importantly, create learners who are willing to chal-lenge the current standards.

as a Teacher my goal is for

my sTudenTs To have

confidence in Their abiliTy To learn To Think

raTionally and clearly

organize ideas To accuraTely

apply concepTs.

MARVELIA BALBOA SAN BENITO CISD

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

Texas Graduate Center is a public-private initiative of the Texas Valley Communities Foundation | 1098 W. Expressway 83, Mercedes TX, 78570 | 956.903.4231 | for more info, contact Mary alice reyes at [email protected]

FACILITAToRDr. Mary Alice Reyes has extensive years of experience in educational leadership as a campus principal, district-level administrator and superintendent of schools. Her expertise will lend to developing a personal and practical learning community environment that will build on the principals’ strengths and address their unique needs.

MISSIoNThe mission of the Principals Academy is to build the capacity of principals to lead for instructional improvement within their schools and districts by creating the conditions for building a collaborative culture of efficacy and high performance expectations focused on results.

PRoGRAM MoDELEach meeting will consist of training based on the work of Michael Fullan, Lyle Kirtman, Keith Leithwood, Robert Marzano and other leading authorities in educational leadership.

PRoGRAM CoMPoNENTS• 8TrainingsessionswithResourceGuide• 3Followupsessions• Book:ThePrincipal:ThreeKeystoMaximizingImpact• Externalcampusvisits• Speakerstoenhancecurriculum• On-sitesupport• On-linesupport• PrincipalsAcademyshirt• CertificateofCompletion

1The Changing Role

of the Principal

5Building System

Coherence

3Transformational vs Instructional

Leadership

7Change

Challenges and Strategies

2Urgency and

Drivers of Change

6Principals as

Agents of Change

4Building

Professional Capital

8Designing a Maximizing Impact Plan

BUILDING THE CAPACITY TO MAXIMIZE IMPACT

“The role of the principal needs to be balanced between content and organizational leadership. The educational leader is the overall leader of instruction, but he or she needs to have time and skills to motivate and build teams and develop leadership

capacity in his or her school for change.” – Kirtman, 2013

August 2015


CohoRT IVnow forming...

• 3YearMaster’sPrograminpartnershipwithHarvardUniversityExtensionSchool

• MathematicsforTeachingProgram• CohortLearningModel• SummerResidencyatHarvardUniversity• ClassesBeginJanuary2016

WWW.TXGRADCENTER.oRG

APPLICATIoNS ARE DUE

oCTobER 30, 2015Formoreinfo,pleasecontact:

[email protected]

TXGRADCENTER.ORG

MATHTEACHProfessional Development

2015 - 2016

Collaborative

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER

Febuary

JUly

10-16

6

13

5

2015

2015

2016

2016

Mathematician and math educator, founder of The St. Mark’s Math Institute, scholar at the Mathematical Association of America, author of over ten books on mathematics, curriculum, and education.Workshop #: 49184

James Tanton

Maria PizanoMaximizing the Impact of Parental EngagementResearcher and Consultant formerly with the Harvard Family Research Project.Workshop #: 49290

Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of ChicagoPreceptor at Harvard University from 1999-2005Winner of the 2004 Joseph R. Levenson Teaching PrizeWorkshop # 49291

John Boller

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Superintendents Leadership SeriesLeadership: An Evolving Vision

August 2015


The Texas Graduate Center is a public-private initiative of the

Texas Valley Communities Foundation.

Thank you to our MATHTEACH Collaborative

Partners:

Documents

TGC Monthly August 2015