Building Middle School Teacher Mathematics and Science Content Knowledge through Engineering Design (Fundamental)

摘要

We present a model for professional development that emerged from our work with 24 middle school mathematics and science teachers in rural Appalachia. The model utilizes iterative design/redesign to address "the engineering problem" of building teacher content knowledge for teaching mathematics and science. Project TESAL (Teachers Engaged in Science And Literacy) is a three year Math Science Partnership providing proximal context for developing this model. Project TESAL involved two weeks professional development each summer, two days each semester, and classroom observations/support. Teachers participated all three years and created then implemented and refined two lesson plans per year. Project TESAL involved 24 participating teachers from four counties with 41% to 67% low-income students, less than 80% highly qualified mathematics or science teachers, and below average mathematics and science test scores in a state well below the national average.