USA AMSTI - Professional Development Program

Professional Development Group Picture

Project Summary

CISSTEM, in collaboration with AMSTI-USA and the Mobile and Baldwin County Public School Systems partnered to implement a comprehensive three-year professional development program for middle school math teachers. The professional development model is a hands-on, inquiry-centered, cooperative, and involves authentic assessment just like the AMSTI program itself. The AMSTI-Professional Development Program is designed to emphasize content and process skills through real world applications. Deeper content will be facilitated by the teachers’ participation in Math Circles during the academic year. This PD program is led by professors from the University’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics and facilitated by AMSTI and College of Education and Professional Studies faculty. A second critical component is the summer PD program wherein math teachers will engage in AMSTI training in an authentic context with middle grades children during a three-week program designed to teach best practices and reinforce fidelity to AMSTI pedagogy.

Project Goals & Impacts

The project is designed to:

  1. deepen the content knowledge of participating teachers,
  2. enhance their fidelity to the AMSTI methodology and best instructional practices, and
  3. create a culture of increased learning with respect to the Common Core Standards that will result in increased student achievement in mathematics,
  4. create a replicable, sustainable, and cost effective Professional Development model for teachers that uses scientifically based research, best practices, and identified student needs.

Project Leadership

P.I. - Dr. Andre M. Green, College of Education and Professional Studies

Co-P.I. - Dr. Cornelius Pillen, College of Arts and Sciences

Co-P.I. - Dr. Vasiliy Prokhorov, College of Arts and Sciences

Co-P.I. - Ms. Kelly Byrd, College of Education and Professional Studies

Fund Source

Math & Science Partnership award from the Alabama State Department of Education through the US Department of Education