UMSD math coaches plus math teachers add up to a bright future for students

The Upper Moreland School District's "math coach" program has helped teachers recalculate the way math concepts are presented throughout the district.

Math coaches “support teachers and instruction, and data analysis,” said Mary Ann Jensen, high school and middle school math coach. “We provide feedback on a day-to-day basis.”

Jensen spoke during a presentation of the district's math coach program given to the school board Feb. 3.  She was there to support the presenters, Jennifer Leham, the district’s director of education, and Dena Criss, acting program specialist.

The presentation outlined the role of a math coach and the program's benefits regarding student performance and understanding in the classroom.

The program has changed the way teachers present math concepts.

Traditionally, students are seated in rows facing the teacher for instruction. Through research conducted through the math coach program, including one-on-one pre-conference meetings with teachers and subsequent analysis, math coaches in the district have found it more beneficial for students to learn in groups.

“There’s more math talk among students,” Criss said during the presentation. “And not just 49 minutes of the teacher talking.”

One step in the research for the math coach program involved the superintendent, staff and other math teachers going on a “Data Walk.”

According to Leham, the districtwide walks took place last April, where the small group observed students and math teachers in the classroom.

Information from these walks and other collected data helped shape the math coaches' pre-conference meetings with math teachers.

In these meetings, teachers would discover the best practices, and co-create or sharpen lesson plans with the math coach.

“We’ve noted that the world has changed,” Robert Milrod, superintendent of schools, said. “Students need to understand the numbers, as well as the rote memorization.”

During the presentation, Milrod advocated this approach to teaching math.

“I see the teacher talking about a concept, then say, ‘Ok, kids, go into your group to come up with a solution,’” Milrod said.

Students may then compare answers, working as a group to determine why peers may or may not have gotten similar answers.

According to Criss, the elementary and middle school grades aren’t the only ones using this method. In May 2009, high school classes were arranged in rows; by October of last year, a majority of the math classes were in a group format.

In addition to encouraging math teachers to utilize group learning, math coaches also help teachers incorporate 21^st-century classroom practices.

“In kindergarten to grade-two level, student engagement is huge because they are so used to being engaged with technology,” Leham said.

To demonstrate such practices, the presenters invited the school board and audience to answer questions utilizing a Technologies’ ResponseCard.

The cards, also referred to as “clickers,” are remote controls about the size of a credit card that correlate to multiple choice answers provided on the projection screen. This method is currently used in district classrooms.

According to Leham, the real-time answers can also be recorded for each individual user and collected for data purposes, such as determining which students are having more difficulty with certain math concepts.

She said that Temple University also uses the same model that the district uses.