A Web of Influence: How the MSP Program Has Shaped the Thoughts of Three Instructors
J. Reyes
2010
During the "What We Have Learned Symposium," the following question was posed to the members of the Content Course Fishbowl Discussion Panel: How has teaching in this program influenced your own thinking about teaching and learning? Given this question, I immediately began to think about the instruction team for the Cohort II course, Probability and Statistics. This team consisted of three members: me, Sandra Overcash, and Nancy Wall. In preparing to teach the course, our first task was to
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... it the course objectives and subsequently assign roles based on our expertise, interests, and interpersonal skills. It was especially nice to have three faculty members from different backgrounds, therefore not only adding three different perspectives, but also making the delineation of responsibility easier. As the member with a terminal degree in our content area, it was often my responsibility to give credence to our claim that a deeper understanding of the K-8 content was critical for the participants' success as a Mathematics Specialist. I also tended to answer the more difficult content-related questions that arose, and strove to keep our delivered content cohesive throughout the summer. In contrast to my status as a relative novice to the Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) program, Nancy Wall has taught the class numerous times and has also served as a K-8 instructor for over twenty-five years. Hence, she brought a more intimate knowledge of what goes on inside the classroom, and reinforced our credibility with the K-8 teacher leaders with respect to the Virginia Standards of Learning and middle school curriculum. She was also assigned the task of leading most of the hands-on activities and helping us explore common mistakes and concerns with the curriculum. Sandra Overcash was a graduate of the MSP program and, along with Nancy, also served in the master teacher capacity. While she played a lesser role in delivering content, her primary task was to help us make the pedagogical connections within our MSP curriculum whenever possible. She led most, if not all, of the Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMJ) module discussions; and, based on her own experience in
doi:10.25891/vj49-rb43
fatcat:hfekahgxqfhgtlf37arefdth2u