Dates: August 8-12, 2011
Times: 8-3:30

* PLUS In order to prepare for the lab school, there will be an introductory session Date still TBD

And a Follow-up Session on October 4th
4:30-7:30pm

Location: Hardwick
Elementary School, Hardwick, VT

Cost: $605 for members;
$750 for nonmembers
* Additional $306 for 3 graduate credits from Union Institute and University

Registration: http://www.lapdavt.org

DOWN load the Syllabus here

INTRODUCTORY SESSION TBD

About the Course:

Appropriate for Educators in Grades 2 - 7.

The Mathematics Lab School is a research-based professional development opportunity for teachers, which includes tutorial services or at risk students. The teachers work together to provide intensive mathematics instruction for students in a host school. The Mathematics Lab School is an intensive week of student instruction during the morning session and a graduate level seminar in the afternoon.

Additional follow-up sessions will be held during the fall semester;
the dates will be determined by the group during the summer. In order to prepare for the lab school, there will be an introductory session in the spring.

The content focus of this year's math lab is multiplicative reasoning. There is clear evidence that children have much greater difficulty with multiplicative than additive reasoning based on research done by Kouba (1989) and Steffe (1998). In order to act on a multiplicative
situation effectively, a child must be able to recognize the situation as multiplicative and then use a multiplicative strategy to solve the problem. The transition from additive to multiplicative thinking
happens between second and fifth grade and it is essential for students to make the transition in order to access most mathematics they will be learning from mid fifth grade on.

Teachers will have the opportunity to work with teacher partners to assess and develop instructional programs based on the needs of specific students. In this course, there is a direct link between the research findings and instructional methods. Teachers learn and practice using strategies and methods that reflect current research in mathematics instruction. During the graduate seminars, teachers
consider how methods and strategies can become a part of their mathematics instruction in the classroom. An important feature of the Mathematics Lab School is the opportunity for teachers to work
together to reflect on teaching methodologies and student progress.

Teachers observe one another daily and use these observations to continually refine instruction to meet each student's needs. During the graduate seminars, teachers review and adapt curriculum for a variety of learners.

About the Instructor

Betsy Allen is the Math Teacher Leader at the Hardwick Elementary School. She has worked as a Math Network Leader for the Department of Education and is currently on the DOE’s Common Core Math Network Team. She was a member of the state’s team that developed the Primary Number and Operations K-2 Assessments under the leadership of Loree Silvis. She also teaches a Math Methods for Elementary Teachers course for Johnson State College and is part of their Teacher Portfolio Review Committee.