Professional Development Partnership
for Improving Understanding in Algebra
Jon F. Hasenbank, Ph.D (Director, UW-La Crosse)
Jennifer Kosiak, Ph.D (Co-Director, UW-La Crosse)
Ted Hodgson, Ph.D (External Evaluator, Northern Kentucky University)
Teacher Access to D2L:
https://uwlax.courses.wisconsin.edu/
(For participants only - D2L login name required)
Program Overview:
Teachers from grades 7-12 have been invited to complete a year-long professional development program funded by WITQ Grant #07-0711. Participating teachers:
- Earn 3 graduate credits from UW-La Crosse at no cost to them.
- Explore what it means for students to “understand” algebra procedures.
- Learn to teach for and assess understanding of algebra.
- Develop lessons they can use to guide their students to deeper understanding.
- Share what they have learned with other Wisconsin educators.
The program includes teachers from:
- Holmen H.S., Mauston H.S., Onalaska H.S., Onalaska M.S., Pittsville H.S., Richland Center H.S., Westfield H.S.
Program Goals
The goals of the program are:
- To introduce teachers to research on teaching for understanding,
- To help teachers improve their own understanding of algebra,
- To provide tools that can lead students to deeper understanding of mathematics.
Project Timeline
Summer workshop:
August 6-10, 2007
Implementation, Peer Observations,
and Reflections: September – May, 2007Face-to-Face Follow-up at UW-L:
One Saturday in Oct-07 and
again in Feb-08WMC Conference:
Green Lake: May 1-2, 2008
Observation Instrument
An electronic classroom observation instrument was developed for this project. This instrument allows the observer to record the nature of classroom activity in any of a number of categories. Email the project director for more information.
For More Information
The documents and presentations below offer more information on the project.
- Chaouki, R., Hasenbank, J. F. (2008) - A Deeper Understanding of Algebra / Math. Presentation at the Western Wisconsin Education Conference (WWEC).
- Hasenbank, J. F. (2007). Procedural Understanding in Mathematics: A Framework for Building Connections (pdf). Presentation at the Wisconsin Mathematics Council's Annual Meeting in Green Lake.
Questions?
If you have questions or want additional information, please contact:
Jon Hasenbank
Project Director
