Challenge
Research shows that teacher quality is the single most powerful influence on student learning. Yet many teachers do not feel well prepared to implement standards-based mathematics education with the diverse groups of students found in general education classrooms, including students with disabilities and students with different capabilities and needs. As a result, mathematics achievement data often show large performance gaps between students with and without disabilities.
EDC is collaborating with Bank Street College of Education and other partners to implement, test, and refine strategies for regionally expanding their Math for All professional development program in a variety of settings and with diverse high-need populations across Illinois, New Jersey, and New York. The project is designed to build local capacity and infrastructure to support the sustainability and continued expansion of the program after this project ends.
Key Activities
Math for All has been demonstrated to positively impact teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and classroom practices and to also improve students’ performance on mathematics achievement tests. The project team is carrying out the following activities to support the sustainability, spread, and shift to local ownership of Math for All:
- Train local staff developers and teacher leaders as facilitators of the program
- Include school leaders in the professional learning for facilitators and teachers to ensure buy-in and schoolwide implementation of the program
- Integrate Math for All into existing professional learning structures that are part of teachers’ regular work schedules
Impact
- The project has prepared more than 90 local facilitators to lead Math for All professional learning—supporting over 500 teachers in personalizing rigorous mathematics instruction to improve the mathematics achievement of the approximately 10,000 students they teach every year.
- Research findings show that Math for All, when implemented by local facilitators, had a significant impact on teachers’ perceived self-efficacy to teach mathematics to students with disabilities, an outcome that has been linked to improved student achievement. The effect on teacher outcomes observed in this project replicates findings from previous studies in which Math for All was implemented by program developers, and speaks to the scalability of the program.
- The project is publishing its findings in journal articles to inform practice and advance the field’s knowledge, as well as sharing via a video, blog posts, conference proceedings, and a regular newsletter.
Learn More
PROJECT DIRECTOR
EDC Staff
DURATION
FUNDED BY
PARTNERS
Bank Street College of Education; Deacon Hill Research Associates; Westat; Teachers College, Columbia University; Chicago Public Schools; Regional Office of Education #47
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