Promising Practices in Large School Systems and State Departments of Education Chairmen for the Session: MISS VERYL SCHULT DR. EUGENE P. SMITH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT 1. Learning the new mathematics is a necessary part of a teacher's activities. 2. A good inservice education program serves the needs of all persons concerned with instruction: Teachers, supervisors, administrators. 3. A good inservice program is continuous. 4. Large school systems have many opportunties to provide effective inservice education by means of conferences, panel discussions, reports, workshops, library facilities, and institutes. 5. Formal and informal study groups provide inservice education of high order. 6. Independent reading and study are excellent means for achieving individual teacher improvements. 7. Inservice education programs need to be evaluated carefully. 8. Curriculum evaluations and revisions provide good inservice improvement experiences. 9. Experimentation with new materials and methods provides opportunities for inservice growth. 10. Demonstration lessons followed by discussions contribute to inservice improvements. 11. Professional teacher organizations exist mainly to provide opportunities for inservice educational improvements. 12. Each State department of education should assume active leadership in inservice improvement of teachers. 13. Each State department of education should have on its staff a consultant in mathematics who can provide specialized help for inservice education programs. 14. New York State has taken the lead in providing television and kinescopic films. INTRODUCTION TO THE REPORT Continous learning of new mathematics by secondary school mathematics teachers is an essential part of their professional activities. Today, this is more important than ever before, due to the vast changes which have taken place in both the content and the spirit of mathematics during the past few decades. The many ways by which the mathematics teacher can stay abreast of the new content and methods include group study as well as individual efforts in learning and transferring content and method into classroom practice. The basic purposes of inservice programs for teachers are achieved only if the end result is that students learn more mathematics. That is, the success of the programs is measured by the benefits the students derive from improved mathematics instruction. It is possible to identify a number of general characteristics of a good inservice program that contribute to its success. It is necessary that all the features of any one program should revolve about a central purpose; that is, to provide such new insights into mathematical concepts that the teachers will be able to translate the new knowledge into classroom practice. When enumerating and discussing ways in which teachers may keep abreast of mathematical developments pertinent to mathematics teaching, one must recognize that the teachers must be given financial support and released time. The sources of financial support are generally centered in private and government foundations, State departments, county systems, and local systems. The local administrators should recognize their obligations to provide teachers with released time from professionally irrelevant tasks in order to keep up in vital professional activities. THE REPORT Desirable Organization Patterns No single ideal or best organization pattern for teacher inservice education exists, of course. Some possible patterns, however, are suggested below: 1. Courses or seminars offered for credit by a. College and university instructors in person. b. College and university instructors via television. (Outside foundations, universities, State departments, or strong local efforts may finance the courses.) 2. Noncredit courses or seminars offered by university instructors and financed by a. City, county, or State. b. National Defense Education Act. c. Foundations (National Science Foundation, Carnegie, Ford, etc.). d. Organizations (Association for Computing Machinery, etc.). 3. Academic year fellowships offered by National Science Foundation. 4. Fellowships for summer study offered by— a. National Science Foundation. b. General Electric. c. Esso. d. Shell Foundation. e. Others. 5. Departmental meetings, with lectures, panel discussions, or reports on such subjects as— a. The work of the School Mathematics Study Group or of the Commission on Mathematics (College Entrance Examination Board). b. The University of Maryland Mathematics Project (UMMaP—Jr. H.S.). c. How the new mathematics is affecting standardized testing. d. Special projects. e. Yearbooks and other publications (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and others). f. "Modern" mathematics. g. Gifted students of mathematics. h. Correlation of mathematics and science. 1. Uses of mathematics in industries. 6. One- or two-day conferences utilizing— a. Talks by outside speakers, consultants, or visiting lecturers. b. Discussion groups to correlate the work of elementary and secondary schools. c. Cooperative discussions with representatives of high schools and colleges. d. Reports and discussions of curriculum experiments. e. Study groups led by teachers who have served on curriculum committees. teachers who have special interests or have made special investigations. teachers who have had recent training in institutes. supervisors. f. Reviews and discussions of new mathematics books. g. Discussion groups on pertinent problems in mathematics education. h. Community resources. 1. Study and discussion of the development of mathematical concepts. j. Use of learning aids. 7. Informal study groups working together on specific problems of mathematical instruction, such as a. The place of proof in junior high school. b. The place of proof in algebra. c. The extent of rigor in geometry. d. The place of solid geometry in the high school curriculum. e. The place of standardized tests in evaluating instruction. 8. Workshops (1 or more weeks) devoted to such activities as a. Studying the new instructional materials. b. Viewing and evaluating mathematics films. c. Viewing demonstration teaching with followup discussion. d. Studying particular areas of mathematics. e. Studying new mathematics tests. f. Developing materials for special groups of students (gifted, remedial). g. Investigating practices in other school systems. 9. Work on committees concerned with such projects as a. Selecting standardized tests. b. Evaluating and testing in the mathematics department (prepar ing tests, helping in correcting, interpreting results). c. Setting up criteria for selection of textbooks. d. Selecting textbooks. e. Selecting learning aids, such as films, models, instruments. f. Curriculum study and production. g. Science and mathematics fairs. h. Mathematics contests and other competitions. i. Planning programs for mathematics clubs. j. Planning mathematics classrooms in new schools. k. Mathematics presentations on educational television. 1. Preparing bibliographies for use by other teachers. m. Collecting and/or preparing career guidance material in mathematics. n. Planning work for special groups of students (talented, slow, etc.). o. Preparing study guides for teachers, such as bibliographies, glossaries of the vocabulary and symbolism of the new mathematics. 10. Trips to places of mathematical interest such as "digital computer centers." 11. Participation in the work of mathematical organizations (Mathematical Association of America, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics). Inservice Programs: Some Guiding Principles 1. The central theme of a program should be "mathematics and its teaching." 2. Mathematics teachers should play key roles in structuring their inservice education program. 3. Genuine support by administrators is essential: It should grow out of their interest in supporting teachers' efforts. 4. Careful and enlightened planning of activities is essential. 5. Plans for a program should take into account the competencies and individual differences of the teachers for whom the program is intended. 6. A climate conducive to a free interchange of ideas and viewpoints is desirable. 7. Evaluation programs should be carefully planned and conducted. Results should be used in planning other programs. 8. A variety of texts and professional books and instructional materials should be easily accessible to teachers. 9. Teachers' improved competence through participation in inservice programs should be reflected in promotions, in pay, and in other forms of recognition. 10. Intrinsic and extrinsic incentives for teachers' participation should be provided. 11. All posible educational and industrial resources should be used to the fullest extent. Checklist for Judging a Workshop Question 1. Is the workshop related to the needs and problems of the teachers?______ 2. Has there been adequate preplanning?__‒‒‒‒ 3. Is the workshop conducted under competent and informed leadership?______ 4. Are the necessary materials and facilities made available? 5. Do the teachers feel they can use in their own classrooms 7. Are administrators invited to participate?‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ Role of the Large School System The large school system offers unique opportunities for inservice teacher education. Its limited geographic area facilitates ready communication and affords homogeneous conditions. The industries of a city interact with the educational system to give teachers both stimulation and service. The city or area colleges make formal courses possible and furnish an atmosphere conducive to continuous study. Large schools can permit greater flexibility among their faculty, and thus allow released time for inservice education. The large community population makes it easier for schools to find qualified substitutes for this purpose. The big student bodies make it possible to have not only homogeneous grouping and a greater variety of courses but also better formal and informal research on curriculum, methods, and organization. Since great numbers of teachers are employed it is feasible and efficient to appoint department heads and supervisors to assist with inservice education. Library facilities are |