Sponsor

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Objectives

To fulfill its purposes, CEEMaST:

• conducts workshops and conferences for teachers of science, mathematics, and technology;

• serves as a clearinghouse for information about current issues and trends in science, mathematics, and technology;

• assists schools in identifying and solving problems related to curricula in science, mathematics, and technology;

• assists schools in identifying and solving problems related to the teaching of science, mathematics, and technology;

• conducts workshops and provides information regarding equity issues in science, mathematics, and technology.

Mission

• To promote the professional development of teachers of mathematics, science, and technology.

• To improve the teaching and learning of science and mathematics at all levels.

• To promote the study of science and mathematics by all students, with a particular outreach to females and minority group members.

Partners

Guiding Principles

CEEMaST is committed to providing effective Professional Development Programs (PDP) in mathematics for teachers, administrators, and family and community members. The following principles guide the design of these activities.

1) Professional Development Programs need to be developed as part of a partnership between the participants in the programs and the CEEMaST faculty.

2) Professional Development Programs need to be responsive to the needs and concerns of the participants. Therefore, they must relate to the teachers' classrooms, the administrators' schools, and the families' roles in supporting the mathematics education of their children. As a result CEEMaST's activities will be framed within the context of the state mathematics standards and framework and the district instructional materials.

3) Professional Development Programs need to be scheduled over a considerable period of time. It is only through on-going support, that participants make the most effective use of what they learn in the PDP.

4) Professional development Programs in mathematics must address the mathematical knowledge of the participants as well as concerns related to pedagogy and assessment.

5) Professional Development Programs in mathematics differ from programs in reading and language arts in significant ways.

a) All teachers know how to read. Not all teachers know mathematics or how to do mathematics. Therefore, participants in mathematics professional development programs should engage in doing mathematics that is at a level just beyond their comfort level. These activities serve as a vehicle for the analysis of the process and content of mathematics as well as an introduction to assessment activities.

b) Reading is a contentless discipline. Mathematics has a defined content that must be addressed. The process of reading uses the content of other subjects such as social science, science, or literature to develop reading skills. In learning how to do mathematics (the process part), participants also are required to use or learn the content of mathematics. This content addresses several subdisciplines such as number, geometry, algebra, statistics, and probability. The process itself often requires mathematical reasoning, representing mathematical ideas in many different ways, and identifying similarities and differences among the mathematics content studied.

6) Professional Development Programs must provide the participants with the time and opportunity to discuss and plan how to use what they have done during the programs' activities in their own classrooms and schools.

Projects

• Teachers as Agents of Systematic Change -

• California Mathematics Project – Summer Institute

• 2001 CEEMaST Conference on Mathematics, Science and Technology

• Hosts the local California Mathematical Professional Development Institute

Future Plans

• Establish a network of mathematics educators at the university and school levels to include presentations, lectures, collegial meetings, and articulation activities.

• Develop Master's Degree programs in mathematics and science education at both the elementary and secondary levels.

• Develop a series of in-service credit/non-credit programs in mathematics and science education for both the academic year and summer session.

• Formalize research efforts in mathematics, science, and technology education.

• Create an interdisciplinary major for students interested in a science preparation program.

• Develop special programs or certificate programs for classroom teachers; develop a joint program with the School of Education leading to a supervisor's credential in science and / or mathematics education.

• Increase focus on equity issues.

• Develop distance learning experiences for mathematics and science students and teachers at the K-12, community college, and university levels.

Expanding Professional Communities

Project Management Plan

Formative Evaluation Plans

Timeline of Project Activities

Comments

Used to be The Center for Science and Mathematics Education.