During the BLT Math workshop, teachers gather on the SMC lawn to launch a rocket.
E=MC2 workshop participants stand in front of their mathematical models for an “earthquake” competition.
BLT Math participants, pose with sponsoring Lee faculty members and community business leaders.
Lee University hosted two professional development workshops for local elementary and middle-school math teachers. The first workshop, Bringing Life To Math, was designed for middle school teachers and took place June 15-19. The second workshop, titled “E=MC2: Elementary Mathematics and sCience Connections,” took place June 22-26 and was targeted toward elementary school teachers.
The 25 BLT Math participants represented 11 schools from six different local districts. The workshop was directed by Lee’s Dr. Caroline Maher-Boulis and co-directed by Drs. Jeneva Moseley and Jason Robinson, also of Lee. Dr. Ashley Smith, professor of education at Lee, taught a session on certification.
The goal of the BLT Math project and workshop is to help teachers increase their understanding and instruction of the mathematical content in four domains: Ratios & Proportional Relationships, Expressions & Equations, Geometry, and Function. This was done through creating real-world problems that portrayed the targeted mathematical content and the effective use of manipulatives and hands-on scientific experiments.
The program’s directors modeled the TEAM (Tennessee Educator Acceleration Model) approach for workshop participants, showing teachers how to develop within their students the critical skills necessary for future education. BLT Math participants received classroom equipment and resources that will help them apply and utilize the strategies and ideas they have gained from the workshop.
Dr. Maher-Boulis, Dr. Moseley, and Dr. Robinson will present the BLT Math project and its outcomes at three conferences this fall.
“This has been a great opportunity showing wonderful teamwork,” said Dr. Maher-Boulis. “The participating teachers were excited, very engaged, learned a lot, and walked away with so many ideas for making mathematics real in their classrooms.”
During the E=MC2 workshop, 29 4th and 5th grade teachers from Hamilton, Bradley, and Sevier Counties learned techniques and lessons from Lee University faculty for applying mathematics principles to scientific experiments. Participating teachers received the necessary laboratory equipment with which to return to their schools and replicate the experiments with their students. The program involved a preliminary online meeting in April and the workshop in June, and will include monthly follow-up meetings in the fall.
The E=MC2 workshop was taught by Lee faculty members Drs. Blayne Carroll, Sherry Kasper, Debra Mimbs, Sarah Schlosser, Laura Singletary, and Lori West. Dr. Pamela Browning, chair of Lee’s Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education, served as a pedagogy instructor.
“We love having the opportunity once again to work with local teachers,” said Dr. West, associate professor of biology at Lee and E=MC2 program director. “We want to be a resource to them and form a community with them. Our goal is to help teachers find creative ways to get their students excited about science and mathematics, while providing a means by which they can collaborate with one another as well.”
Both workshops were funded by the Improving Teacher Quality Grant program, a professional development initiative for teachers to increase their knowledge and competency in math. The project is funded under an agreement with the state of Tennessee through the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. Five online follow-up meetings will continue this fall for all workshop participants.