Our staff of exceptionally-trained Regional Teacher Partners are available to provide customized and targeted professional learning and bring it right to your district or school. Examples of support are listed below, but we always develop our programming based on the needs of your teachers, school, or district. Email us to find out how we can assist with your professional learning.
Math Program Review
The Math Teaching and Learning profile provides your school with an overall picture of the mathematics instructional program and recommendations for improvement. The process includes an onsite visit from a review team from PIMSER to conduct classroom observations and interviews with students, parents, teachers of math, and the principal. In addition, teachers and principals will complete online surveys about their roles in the mathematics program. The review team then analyzes all collected data and develops a comprehensive report. Finally, a member of the review team returns to the school to review the report with the principal and answer any questions. View a full description of the MTLP process and standards.
Math Implementers Initiative
Get one-on-one and small group support for new teachers, those new to teaching mathematics, and teachers who need support implementing aspects of the Kentucky Academic Standards for Mathematics (KASM) in their classrooms. Partner virtually with a Master Teacher and learn to navigate the KASM: Critical Focus Areas, Standards for Mathematical Practices (SMPs), and the Content Standards.
Examples of support we can provide:
- Assist teachers with planning lessons that are aligned to the standards
- Give expert feedback on a teacher’s unit of study
- Virtual observation of a classroom lesson, followed by feedback to the teacher
- Review samples of student work a grade level has implemented with their students, followed by partnership conversations about curriculum and instruction changes to move the thinking forward
- Review standards being bundled for a unit and discuss together ideas for assessment and activities
- Discuss standards progressions across grade bands
- Work with a PLC to discuss implementation of the mathematical practices
- Small group and one-on-one virtual meetings sharing struggles and successes
- Personalized virtual learning based on individual needs
Virtual support via Zoom or Teams. Onsite training is also available. Contact us with questions or to schedule your support 859-576-4286.
Virtual Coaching/Support
PIMSER can conduct a virtual cadre of support for coaching new teachers (0-5 years’ experience) and/or experienced teachers (5+ years’ experience). Cadres (small groups of <10) will meet monthly with a Master Teacher who will facilitate open conversations in areas identified using a pre-assessment for job-embedded professional learning.
Topics could include:
- building conceptual understanding K-5 mathematics
- formative/summative math classroom assessments
- quality questions
- math games to develop conceptual understanding and strategies for students
- math standard progressions
- individual topics and/or combinations and relationships between topics
We could also collect questions/issues from the participants and facilitate open conversations about issues they are facing, which would be great for job embedded professional learning.
Up the Rigor in Math
Number and Operations – Grades K-5 (RTI 6-8)
Addresses how the 2019 revised KAS for Mathematics, Number and Operations in Base Ten, builds a foundation for reasoning about fractions and algebraic thinking. View flyer for a complete description.
Fractions – Grades 3-6 (RTI 6-7)
Addresses how the 2019 revised KAS for Mathematics develops a progression that supports student knowledge and reasoning of equivalence, comparing, ordering, and making sense of fractions with models.
Standards for Mathematical Practice in the elementary, middle and high school classroom
This workshop will assist teachers to gain a better understanding of the Standards for Mathematical Practice while learning instructional strategies that will help students develop the level of expertise indicated in these standards. At the end of each session, participants will have ready-to-use research-based instructional strategies to use with their students. View flyer for a complete description
Discourse in the mathematics classroom: how to engage in productive talk
This training helps teachers to learn effective practices in the classroom that promotes discourse. Teachers will learn the NCTM’s five practices for orchestrating discourse: anticipating, monitoring, selecting, sequencing and connecting. These practices will be studied through the use of rich mathematical tasks. Modeling and discussion will help teachers to understand how to implement these practices into their classroom practice. Websites and resources will be highlighted that provide the rich mathematical tasks needed to foster discourse.
ACT Math Boot Camp
Develop course intervention strategies and student support systems that move away from a single focus on last minute test taking tips. Work collaboratively to create challenging growth goals for your students and develop instructional strategies to empower and engage all students utilizing critical components of the College and Career Readiness Standards. View flyer for a complete description.
Achieving Success in the Algebra II and Calculus Classroom with Under-served Students
This 2-day workshop is designed to introduce research-proven strategies, activities, and assessment ideas that make a difference in student learning and performance in the classroom: building a learning culture, focusing on individual needs of students, and giving them all the best possible chance of passing the AP exam and End of Course and ensuring success in college-level courses. View flyer for a complete description.
Effective use of manipulatives to promote student understanding at all levels
The Standards for Mathematical Practices includes calculators and manipulatives as tools for doing mathematics. Manipulatives can be used to test emerging mathematical ideas, yet manipulatives can be used ineffectively and not accomplish the goal of supporting relational understandings. This short course will focus on using manipulatives as effective tools to understanding mathematical concepts when used with high quality questions and tasks.
Games for elementary that integrate the mathematical practices
Research has shown that incorporating games into classroom curriculum has many positive effects such as the following: increases student engagement, closes the achievement gap, fosters positive social interactions, enhances student motivation and increases student attendance. Participants will learn purposeful construction of games that support both the KAS and SMP.
Teaching fractions for conceptual understanding in the intermediate grades 4-6
This training explores multiple ways to integrate conceptual and procedural understanding of fractions, fraction operations and decimals into mathematics instruction. The lessons allow students opportunities to reflect on their thinking about fractions as they try to make sense of the formal symbolic system, so students develop a deep, conceptual understanding of fractions.
Using the number line in elementary and middle school
Short courses designed to strengthen content understanding of the KAS in mathematics and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. Experience activities as a learner, which promotes conceptual understanding and boost number sense. View flyer for a complete description.
Number sense in the primary grades
Having a good intuition about numbers and their relationships develops gradually as students explore numbers, visualize numbers and relate numbers in ways that are not limited by traditional algorithms. When students have number sense, they can think flexibly about number size, how to represent and develop accurate perceptions about the effects of operations on numbers. This short course is designed to help teachers guide students in acquiring number sense skills through careful selection of questions and tasks focusing on numerical flexibility, relative magnitude, reasonable answers and rounding.
Building Student Success in Algebra
Students who develop the ability to think and reason algebraically typically have successful experiences in middle school mathematics and beyond. This two-day workshop introduces research-proven strategies, activities, and assessment ideas that make a difference in the teaching and learning of “Algebraic Thinking.” Participants will work through and develop rich tasks that promote algebraic thinking while making connections among all representations. Tasks will focus on reasoning and problem solving that provide multiple entry points and a variety of solutions. Participants will leave with a variety of rich tasks.