When Grace Ochidi and Olufolakemi Omoruyi tell their first- and second-grade classes that it’s time for mathematics, the response is always enthusiastic now. “They say ‘yay,’” Omoruyi said.
And Ralpheal Brown, their principal at Hopkins Lloyd Community School, said the whole school culture around mathematics has become stronger.
The teachers and principal are part of a group of 12 Milwaukee public schools taking part in a unique professional development program to improve mathematics teaching, learning and leadership in their schools.
The project, funded through a grant from MPS, started in January 2023, and brought the school teams together monthly for three hours on Thursday evenings to learn how to improve mathematics teaching. The group also met for two full days last summer.
It’s unusual, said DeAnn Huinker, professor of mathematics education, because it includes principals or sometimes assistant principals in the sessions. “So often we’re only working with teachers, but it’s exciting to have the principal there.”
By involving the principals, Huinker said, the overall culture of mathematics in the school can improve.
Three pillars to the program
What’s interesting about the project is that it can involve some “math anxious” people, she added. “Some principals say, ‘oh math isn’t really my thing, but I know we really need to work on it in our school.’” Sometimes, teachers encouraged principals to take part in the project or principals encouraged teachers to participate, Huinker said.
The project has three pillars.
One is ambitious mathematics instruction – helping teachers and administrators build their knowledge base about effective mathematics teaching.
The second pillar is a slice of mathematics. “We try to pick a math topic to build the knowledge of the principals and the teachers in that area,” Huinker said. “It’s wonderful and fascinating because the principals – some of them haven’t really thought about math in quite a while.” Teachers and principals work together on hands-on activities – like making fraction strips – that can help make math more accessible for students.
The third pillar is leadership, according to Huinker: helping teachers and principals build their content knowledge to provide mathematics leadership to all the teachers in a school. “Everything we do we tie to this pillar.”
Enthusiastic response
The response from MPS is enthusiastic.
“As we have continued to work with the principal and teacher teams, we are also beginning to see the teachers in the projects become leaders within their buildings and supporting colleagues to develop a love of teaching mathematics,” said Danielle Robinson, mathematics instruction coach for the MPS Central Region.
Participants have really valued the partnership between UWM and MPS, said Beth Schefelker, project staff manager for MPS. These teachers take learning seriously since instructors are connected to current research from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and also working at UW-Milwaukee to prepare future teachers, she added.
“The MPS team has brought forward a process on how to study state standards to identify expectations and then analyze student work to pinpoint areas in need of growth,” Schefelker said. This process has led school teams to develop a common understanding of standards-based student solution strategies. “School teams have taken this process back to their schools and are thrilled to report the positive outcomes of this work,” she said.
“It’s so exciting to watch principals work alongside their teachers…taking risks, having open conversations and sharing small success,” Schefelker said. “I’ve been able to observe various people evolve into critical leaders of mathematics.”
Following up
The program did some follow-up sessions this summer to go deeper into the content, and also had funding available to send teachers and principals to the Wisconsin Mathematics Council state conference in May, where the project was highlighted in two sessions.
“We always love to have strong representation of our urban district at the state conference,” said Huinker said. “They can learn even more to bring back that excitement and enthusiasm to their schools for high quality math instruction.”
The 12 MPS schools involved in the project are:
- Bruce
- Congress
- Doerfler
- Eighty-First Street
- Fratney
- Milwaukee French Immersion
- Milwaukee German Immersion
- Golda Meir
- Hopkins Lloyd
- Pratt
- Starms Discovery Learning Center
- Starms Early Childhood
