2011 Summer Courses A Success

The Greater Birmingham Mathematics Partnership held its annual summer courses for teachers from June 6-17th, 2011.  The location of the courses changed to Irondale Middle School, but the results were the same as in years past, namely hundreds of teachers received quality professional development in mathematics.  Instructors from our partner, the Mathematics Education Collaborative (MEC), taught 2 classes of Patterns 1, one class of Patterns 2, 2 classes of Numerical Reasoning, and 2 classes of a new course called Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning.  Total attendance at the 7 summer course offerings was 241, composed of: 234 teachers, 1 assistant principal, 4 college faculty, and 2 parents. In total, these participants received 11,923 hours of professional development through these courses. In addition to the professional development hours, most attending teachers also received either books or kits of manipulatives (or both)  to make it easier for them to implement inquiry-based instruction in their home classrooms.          

The local teachers who attended teach grades ranging from Kindergarten to High School at 54 different schools from 12 different school districts. National Science Foundation funding supported 92 teachers from primarily middle schools, a school administrator, and 2 college faculty.  Generous funding from the Malone Family Foundation, provided through Birmingham-Southern College, made it possible for 116 Kindergarten - 5th grade teachers to participate. Scholarships from MEC allowed the inclusion of the 2 parents and 2 of the college faculty.  The participation of 26 other teachers was supported by local funding sources including school districts, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, and the Hugh Kaul Foundation.  And 1 local teacher even paid her own way to attend.            

On the surveys at the conclusion of each course, participants were asked to rate whether they "Strongly Agreed", "Agreed", "Disagreed" or "Strongly Disagreed" with a number of statements about the course they took.  Feedback on surveys at their conclusion indicated that the courses were well received and a valuable experience for the attendees.  For example, when asked to rate their level of agreement with the statement "This course improved my mathematical skills and understanding", nearly 99% of the respondents either strongly agreed (70.5%) or agreed (28%). Ninety-nine percent also strongly agreed (77%) or agreed (22%) that "The mathematical ideas presented in this course will be useful in my teaching during the upcoming school year."