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| navigate: home: magazine: spring 2001: article | |
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NSF funds math education center By Jeff Deitrich | ||||||
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Reprinted from Connections, courtesy of the College of Education A nationwide shortage of mathematics education professors has prompted the National Science Foundation (NSF) to award a major competitive grant to Penn State, the University of Maryland and the University of Delaware to establish a new Mid-Atlantic Center for Mathematics Teaching and Learning, in hopes of reversing the trend. At a time when states are moving toward higher academic standards for all subjects, including mathematics, the nation is producing far fewer mathematics education professors than the country needs. More than 200 mathematics professorships were available last year, yet the nation produced fewer than 100 qualified graduates. If the shortage continues, math instruction in public and private schools could falter. The mathematics education program received $3 million of a $9 million NSF grant through the University of Maryland to provide substantial support of graduate students in the program, as well as research initiatives to learn how mathematics educators acquire the requisite knowledge in the field. “With this grant, we are building the mathematics education infrastructure,” said Dr. M. Kathleen Heid, professor of mathematics education at Penn State and co-principal investigator for the three-university project. The grant addresses two problems associated with the shortage. First, it provides substantial funding for graduate students in mathematics education. It will support 15 doctoral students at each of the three universities. As Dr. Patricia Campbell, professor of mathematics education at the University of Maryland and co-principal investigator of the center, observed: “Since doctoral students in mathematics education are frequently experienced and exemplary K–12 teachers, a substantially higher than usual stipend is needed. This level of support will be provided for the Mid-Atlantic Center fellows.” Second, the grant seeks to improve the quality of education these future professors receive. The center combines the resources of the three universities, giving students access to the best faculty and facilities of these institutions. “With refinement of knowledge and access to new technologies, we are changing what we should teach and how we teach it,” Heid said. “We need forward-thinking leaders in mathematics education to continue the progress made thus far. This grant enables us to move forward on several initiatives.” A third part of the program is the development of courses with mathematics faculty, including Dr. Mark Levi, professor of mathematics in the Eberly College of Science at Penn State. These courses will be designed to give mathematics educators the deep knowledge of mathematics that they will need to give quality instruction to future mathematics educators. Other Penn State mathematics education faculty members involved in the center are Drs. Glendon W. Blume and Martin A. Simon, professors of mathematics education in the College of Education. The grant also provides funding for research into how math educators learn and how they might use new technologies to improve math education. The program requires each participating university to establish a partnership with a regional school district. Penn State’s partner is the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The mathematics education program at Penn State has been growing steadily since its inception in 1983, but has shown remarkable strength in numbers and prestige in recent years. It is now one of the top 10 such programs in the nation and in 1997 won an unannounced five-year, $2 million grant to develop the Computer Algebra Systems Intensive Mathematics program, which is building curricula to engage high school teachers in using new technologies to teach mathematics. This most recent NSF grant also meshes with Heid’s work in developing the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) standards, which focus on the development of mathematics knowledge throughout a student’s lifetime in the education system. Work with the new grant will help further define standards for mathematics education professors and help them to gain the requisite knowledge and skills necessary to instruct future teachers in how to meet the NCTM standards with public and private school children. Penn State’s strengths are in its secondary math education program and in the use of technology. The program’s national reputation in these areas helped attract the grant, which was one of only two awarded by NSF for mathematics education. The program has also applied for funding to host an international mathematics education conference. | |||||
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