The OCMPF prepares teacher leaders to work with other teachers in their school. This summer, teacher leaders will receive professional development on a) content knowledge, b) effective teaching strategies, including instruction of English Language Learners, and c) presentation skills, all in the context of the California Mathematics Standards and Framework. The Summer 2007 institutes are scheduled for July 2, 3, 5, & 6 (M, T, Th, & F) and August 17 (F), and August 20-24 (Mon-Fri) all from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

During the week in July we will meet at Cal State Fullerton; in August (17, 20-24) we will be meeting at the Orange County Department of Education in conjunction with the TASEL-M Project (Teachers Assisting Students to Excel in Learning Mathematics). TASEL-M is a project that partners Cal State Fullerton, the Orange County Department of Education, and the following schools: (1) Buena Park HS, Buena Park JHS, and La Vista CS (Buena Park Cluster); (2) Santiago HS, Doig IS, and Walton IS (Santiago Cluster); Los Amigos HS, Fitz IS, Irvine IS and Hare CS (Los Amigos Cluster); and (4) Orange HS, Portola MS, Yorba MS and Richland CS (Orange Cluster). This summer OCMPF is collaborating with TASEL-M to offer professional development to fifth and sixth grade teachers from the “feeder” elementary schools of the middle schools in TASEL-M.

The academic content for the June Institute will focus on the underpinnings of Algebra I (including Prealgebra), providing participating teachers with a deep understanding of the connections of the subject to both the foundations of mathematics and advanced topics in mathematics. Connecting this to the classroom curriculum, there is a balance between fully understanding the content to be taught and appreciating the deeper mathematics upon which the content is grounded.

The syllabus has been designed so that after completing the June Institute, participating teachers will be qualified to assist colleagues within their own schools to become qualified teachers of Pre-algebra. It is also anticipated that teacher-leaders who complete the institute will meet with each other during the school year. The OCMPF Algebra Workshop Manual, developed over the past six years, contains the content lessons and supporting materials covered during the institute. This manual will be available for teacher-leaders to use to conduct workshops or lead grade-level teams in their own schools during the 2007-2008 school year, with support of the project directors. The manual consists of core ideas and problems, but is flexible, allowing for input of specific district adopted materials.

During the August Institute, teachers will participate along with their counterparts from the middle schools in professional development activities, including articulation between the two levels (elementary and middle school), student self assessment, using data to assess mathematics program results, and development of a school mathematics “action plan” for the 2007-2008 school year.

Each participating teacher leader will receive a stipend of $1500 for the two summer institutes. Participants can also receive college credit at a reduced rate. In addition, it is expected that schools will provide the teacher leaders with additional compensation and/or release time to conduct professional development or lead grade-level study groups led by teacher leaders.

An application has been attached, or one can be downloaded as a Microsoft Word document at http://ocmpf.fullerton.edu/application2007.doc.

http://ocmpf.fullerton.edu/application2007.doc