Kristin Umland, assistant professor of math education in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, heads up La Meta, or Mathematics Educators Targeting Achievement, a College of Arts and Sciences program designed to bring content area instruction and teaching methods to math instructors.
Photo: Assistant Professor Kristin Umland
“The goal – and that’s what ‘La Meta’ means in Spanish – is to improve student learning of math,” Umland said. The program is geared toward teachers in grades 5 through 9. “If we can help teachers learn more math and become better equipped to teach it, then they will help their students learn more math,” she said.
Many middle school math teachers were certified K-8 having taken only the equivalent of Math 111 and 112. New state standards require that they become “highly qualified,” which means taking more content instruction.
Teachers apply to La Meta and commit to two summer courses, one fall course and a lesson study in the spring. Umland is finishing the fall course with 23 students, taught in a specially equipped Mitchell Hall classroom.
“We had lots of hands on stuff – graphing calculators, rulers, protractors and such. We also have a document camera, which provides video feed of what is placed on the screen,” Umland said. She added that the new Science and Math Learning Center will have enhanced classroom capability.
“It is important for our teachers to practice talking math, not just doing it. They need to be able to explain how they solved problems, not just solve them,” she said.
The spring lesson study gives teachers the opportunity to work in groups of three or four to fine-tune their skills. “They research an area and develop a lesson plan. One teacher teaches the plan while the others observe the students as the lesson progresses. They look for evidence of the learning,” Umland said.
Umland, who earned a doctorate in algebraic topology, said she didn’t struggle with math until her third year as an undergraduate.
“Anyone who is going to be a math teacher needs to run up against a wall and overcome it,” she said. “Teachers need to help students see through the process, believe in themselves, not give up because it’s frustrating, understand and come through to the other side.”