Education Commons^™

District-University Collaborations To Support Reform-Based Mathematics Curriculum Implementation, Kelly Gomez Johnson, Amy L. Nebesniak, Theodore J. Rupnow

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Curriculum change is inevitable in schooling. For content areas such as mathematics that are already under the national spotlight, transitioning to new curriculum materials while concurrently enacting instructional reform creates both a challenge and an opportunity. This paper discusses how partnerships between two state universities and respective neighboring school districts resulted in the creation and implementation of graduate courses for teachers targeted at curricular and instructional reform specific to each district. Common course components between both university-district partnerships were identified in the areas of mathematics research, practice, and leadership advocacy and found to be instrumental in supporting instructional reform and …

Grounded Technology Integration In Mathematics, Neal Grandgenett, Judi Harris, Mark Hofer

Teacher Education Faculty Publications

Teachers today can choose from a variety of technologies for teaching mathematics. Drill-and-practice software, virtual manipulatives, real-life data sets, interactive geometry programs, graphing calculators, robots, and computer-based laboratories are just a few of the options available. But it can be difficult for mathematics teachers to know just which technologies to choose to support student learning in particular lessons.

One way to help teachers integrate technologies effectively is to match technology integration strategies to how teachers plan, rather than asking teachers to plan instruction that exploits the opportunities offered by particular educational technologies. For more information, see our previous article ( …

Using Robotics To Equip K-12 Teachers: Silicon Prairie Initiative For Robotics In Information Technology (Spirit), Alisa Gilmore, Bing Chen, Neal Grandgenett

Teacher Education Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

The Silicon Prairie Initiative for Robotics in Information Technology (SPIRIT) is a unique collaborative effort between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Engineering, the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) College of Education, and the local Omaha Public Schools (OPS) system. With funding from an NSF ITEST grant, from 2006 – 2008 the initiative recruited and trained 97 math and science middle school teachers through summer workshops and follow-up sessions during the school year, with the goal of equipping teachers in hands-on engineering design principles and providing curriculum development support for STEM instruction. The centerpiece of the training was …