Evaluation and Credit
Evaluation
The goal and specific objectives are listed under the
Instructional Plan. At the beginning and the end of the workshop,
a 24-item quiz of relevant algebra and geometry items will be
administered to participants to determine whether or not content
knowledge has changed as a result of the workshop. Items will be
selected from the Grades 3-4 and Grades 7-8 released TIMSS items
(Boston College, n.d.a, n.d.b), or similar problems. Problems
will be selected at varying levels of difficulty.
It is expected that elementary teachers are proficient in
general mathematics at least through Grade 8 since many
elementary teachers are licensed to teach Grades K-8 or 1-8. The
state has only recently dropped the K-8 license and added a 5-8
license; a PreK-3 license remains. Though proficient in general
mathematics, teachers may not have, in the past, approached
problem solving using hands-on, constructivist methods. Usiskin
(2002), Director of the University of Chicago School Mathematics
Project (marketed as Everyday Mathematics), states that
teachers may not have taken a college course specifically
designed for teaching mathematics, and that this is not
“watered-down content, but content aimed at a particular
profession” (p. 14).
The following Grades 7-8 problem was completed successfully
by 45% of students in the upper grade and 37% of students in the
lower grade:
The numbers in the sequence 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, ... increase by
fives. The numbers in the sequence 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, ...
increase by sevens. The number 17 occurs in both sequences. If
the two sequences are continued, what is the next number that
will be seen in both sequences? (Boston College, n.d.b, p. 13)
Additional sample items are provided in Appendix C.
Statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) of content knowledge
data will be conducted with the Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS Inc., 1990). Teachers will use a self-selected
code to pair pre-test and post-test evaluative forms; this will
guarantee anonymity to participants. Data will be analyzed by Dr.
McAllister and the graduate assistants.
Graduate Credit
Participants will be offered the opportunity to enroll for 3
semester hours of graduate credit during the fall of 2003 at The
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Course credit will be
awarded through Education 503R, and will meet time commitment and
research requirements expected by The University of Tennessee
system. Dr. McAllister will serve as the instructor of record, at
no additional cost to the grant or to the University. Enrollment
in the course is not required by General Competition guidelines
and is not required for workshop participation.
During the summer, the participant will write an action
research plan for fall 2003 implementation on some aspect of the
workshop. The participant may join the online discussion held by
M.Ed. students enrolled in Education 590 Culminating Experience,
as they implement action research projects during their student
teaching experience. A sample syllabus is included in Appendix D.
(This is the current syllabus for Education 590.)