Alaska Implements Math Teacher Development Program
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01.24.2007—The state of Alaska has implemented a new math teacher professional development program in partnership with education developer Carnegie Learning. The program is designed for teachers who are not certified as "highly qualified" in math. Phase 1 launched last month and will continue through the end of the 2006/2007 school year.
The $360,000 Rural Alaska Math Teacher Development Program is a multi-phase project that incorporates Carnegie's Bridge to Algebra software, which, according to the company, will be used as the core instructional curricula for the statewide training of middle school and secondary math teachers in the State of Alaska. The program involves seven school districts in Alaska and the University of Alaska Southeast’s School of Education. Phase 1 serves 17 schools across the state and will run through the end of the school year.
"This first phase is a stepping stone to a larger initiative that we are optimistic will improve the teaching and learning of math across Alaska," said Chip McMillan, Alaska's Department of Education & Early Development Program specialist. "This program is particularly important in our small rural schools where teachers struggle to teach multiple subjects well."
Funding for the program is coming from No Child Left Behind legislation that authorizes financing of higher education partnerships in each state to support Professional Development through K-16 partnerships. According to Carnegie, "The program requires using practices grounded in scientifically based research so that students benefit from methods and practices that are known to work. Carnegie Learning is one of the only companies with mathematics curricula recognized as effective by the U.S. Department of Education."
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About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at [email protected].
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