My compliments to President Obama for continuing to emphasize the importance of science and math education in his speech this morning.  This follows his National Academy of Science speech last spring, when he said: “We know that the quality of math and science teachers is the most influential single factor in determining whether a student will succeed or fail in these subjects.”

This is why Intel is investing in providing K-8 teachers professional development on math content by taking an innovative approach.  This Intel Math program is an intensive 80 hour course facilitated by a practicing mathematician and a math educator.  The curriculum is available for free to any state in the US.

Let me give you a representative, yet realistic, example of what happens in an Intel Math course.  The mathematician writes the following equations on the board: 3 + 5 x 2 = 13 and 3 + 5 x 2 = 16 and then asks the K-8 teachers attending the Intel Math course if they thought the first, the second, or both equations were true. In response to each question, about 1/3 of the teachers raise their hands.  The correct answer is the first equation.

Unfortunately, the 2/3rds of the teachers who answered this basic question incorrectly are representative of the educators in our lowest performing schools.  Consider the state of California – where by 2020, the state will be “majority-minority”, a population comprised of 50% Hispanic and African Americans.   Using our current rate of “success”, to close the math achievement gap between Whites and Hispanic Americans it will take 105 years, and to close the White/African American gap it will take 189 years.  This is a major civil rights issue that urgently needs to be mitigated.

But back to the plus side, the positive feedback about the Intel Math approach.  These are a few examples of how teachers have reacted to this course: I spoke with a (college math major) rookie teacher who told me “I can’t imagine having taught this first year without having taken this course.”  I also spoke to a veteran teacher who commented, “I found it extremely difficult, having been out of college for 30 years.  However, Intel Math helped me see that I can think and learn in ways that are different from others.” 

Sometimes, teachers almost take a step backward as they realize, “This course really made me question what I know, and if I really understand what I have been teaching all these years.”  What I most enjoyed hearing is how teachers often had specific deeper understanding of the math, “I provided students with a variety of ways to utilize fractions and really understand the theme of part to whole.”

Teachers strive to do the best job they can for their students and they crave valuable professional development.  Our students lag significantly behind their global peers and our nation’s future prosperity depends upon the success of our youth.  It’s high time that our government, corporations, foundations, and schools collaborate to get our nation back on track as a world leader in knowledge and innovation.  I’m proud of the Obama administration and Intel for playing leadership roles in attempting to make a reality.

Tags: education, Intel Math, Math and Science, Obama, STEM, White House

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 11:56 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.