NORTH BRUNSWICK — Two Linwood Middle School teachers will undergo supplemental training in mathematics to help improve educational methods for their students.
Dianne Dorsey and Rose Maguire were selected to participate in the New Jersey Partnership for Excellence in Middle School Mathematics, through Rutgers University.
Dorsey and Maguire will take the following seven graduate courses from Jan. 17 through the summer of 2013: Seminar in Mathematical Ideas; Number, Operations & Algebra; Geometry & Measurement; Seminar in Motivation & Affect; Lesson Study in Mathematical Reasoning; Data & Probability; and Problem Solving & Discrete Mathematics.
The institute also includes a series of workshops on special education in mathematics and on teacher leadership.
The goals of the program are to understand the mathematics of middle school more deeply, engage students more effectively in learning and studying math, and help the participants assume leadership roles as math coaches or facilitators for professional development, according to Judy Perla, district supervisor of math for kindergarten through eighth grade.
“It’s a pretty good opportunity for teachers to further their education,” she said.
At the middle school, students begin in sixth grade to learn ratios and proportions. Seventh-graders generally take algebra and eighth-graders take geometry, though there are general math classes as well as academic support. Therefore, this math specialization endorsement brings teachers up to date on current trends and lessons, and will allow them to create effective learning methods.
“These are things we’ve taught for many years. We’re looking at the depth underneath it,” Dorsey said.
“They try to make sure that the teachers in the cohort are very grounded in the background of the math they are teaching,” Maguire said.
Perla applied for the program earlier this year at the urging of Vincent DeLucia, director of curriculum, instruction and professional development. At the end of the summer, Linwood was designated as a partner in the third cohort of the program, and the two teachers were selected from a handful of applicants to represent the school.
The program is funded by the National Science Foundation. If the teachers decide to pursue a master’s degree, they must take the appropriate tests and apply by November 2012 for admission to the Rutgers Graduate School of Education for spring 2013.
“The continual development of concepts in three grade levels is something I think will come out of this,” Maguire said..