Grant expands Project SEED math program in West County
schools
The Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation has made a grant to support the
expansion of Project SEED, the program that teaches concepts in algebra,
geometry and calculus to elementary students, Schools Superintendent Gloria
Johnston has announced.
The Seed grant of $100,000 added 11 Project Seed classrooms and will
also provide additional teacher training and coaching. “Project SEED successfully
engages our students in advanced mathematics, before they get the false
message that this subject is too difficult for them,” said Johnston. “ Inspiring
confidence in our students early on is key to reforming instruction in our
district, especially in mathematics. This grant will also help us meet the
stale mandate for students to complete Algebra 1 by 8th grade, and will
help prepare our teachers for this initiative,” she said.
Project SEED, a national mathematics program, prepares mathematics specialists
to teach in ways that make abstract mathematics easy to understand for
students in elementary school. Their traditional programs takes place
14 to 16 weeks a year as an addition to the regular math curriculum. Classroom
teachers learn the project’s method by observing and participating in
the instruction and through one-on-one coaching by the SEED instructor.
All Project SEED instructors have at least a bachelor’s degree in mathematics,
science or engineering, and many hold a master’s or doctorate.
Project SEED instructors ask questions about small, understandable bits
of complex ideas. As the questions become more complex, so does the understanding.
Older students, who may be inhibited by early experiences of failure in
learning math, often have more difficulty with this material. Students
can respond to virtually every question by using common hand gestures,
and by observing these gestures the instructor monitors how well the entire
class understands what is being taught. When called upon, individuals
are required to explain their answers, and this enhances their verbal
skills.
Last year the program reached over 14,000 students at schools in West
Contra Costa, Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia, Camden, Indianapolis, Milwaukee,
Berkeley, and Oakland.
Run dates: 2000-03-01 - 2000-03-20 |
