The Power of One: Building a Strong Math Community Begins with Me
My proposal focuses on strengthening my own practice and content knowledge as I begin to work towards a goal of mine to be certified as a math coach in my state. This grant opportunity will allow me to start this new endeavor in my career by taking 3 of the 5 graduate classes needed for certification. Upon completion, this certification will allow me to lead professional development and to advocate for best practices not only within my district but across the state as well. Additionally, I hope to strengthen the pedagogical content knowledge base of a group of teachers (grade band 3-5) over the course of one year through sustained professional development (monthly workshops). It is my hope to create a learning community where I will facilitate teachers in thoughtful discourse/lesson study using a variety of resources (Principles to Action, Developing Essential Understanding Series, Implementing CCSS through Mathematical Problem Solving, Common Core in a PLC at Work and 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions).