A professional network of individuals and working groups concerned with the mathematical preparation of school and college teachers of school-level mathematics
America's teachers of school-level mathematics $-$ from pre-kindergarten through calculus $-$ routinely serve in public, private, charter, and home schools … but also in vocational and career settings, and through community literacy programs, or private practice … and in higher education institutions … including teacher-education programs and collegiate programs in pre-college mathematics. Their (MTE) community of mathematics-teacher educators serves in an equally diverse spectrum of roles. That community includes professors, college teachers, teacher-supervisors, demonstration teachers, workshop presenters, authors of instructional media, professional organizations, and more.
This network website $-$ the MPT Netsite [[$ - $] ]is devoted to promoting and facilitating nationwide progress toward establishing the (MTE) field of teacher-education in mathematics, toward increasingly becoming a knowledge-based profession. . The degree to which the MTE community can effectively contribute toward improving the quality and productivity of American curricular education heavily depends on how well its constituents constructively interact through functional networks of professional communications. Progress toward a knowledge-based profession requires progress also in ever strengthening the needed enabling mechanisms of professional networking.
The purpose of this Netsite $-$ and of its associated MTE community e-mail Register $-$ is to promote and facilitate communications, dissemination, cooperation, stimulation, coordination, and collaboration throughout that MTE community $-$ with specific regard for the mathematical preparation of teachers of mathematics, pre-school through calculus. Both of those networking services presently are being provided by the MALEI Mathematics Institute. Inquiries and comments may be addressed to gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm#gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm.
School-level mathematics. In today's global world, the American mathematics curriculum no longer can be regarded as being split into "the college portion" (as courses offered only by colleges) and "the school portion" (which students take in high school and below). Today, large numbers of American schools offer courses ranging from college algebra through the calculus – and large numbers of colleges offer courses ranging from arithmetic through intermediate algebra (Algebra 2).
Nonetheless, a distinction is useful. The minimal expectation for college-oriented high school graduates continues to be satisfactory completion of high school algebra 2 (intermediate algebra). Indeed, that also is a graduation requirement of many schools and of some states. So, for purposes of the MPT-Net, mathematics courses at the level of intermediate algebra and below are regarded as being pre-college mathematics courses regardless of the particular settings in which they are conducted. Courses at higher levels $-$ for which colleges commonly award credits toward graduation $-$ are regarded as being college-level mathematics courses, regardless of the particular settings in which they are conducted.
So today's "school-level mathematics" includes both pre-college mathematics courses (beginning at pre-kindergarten) and whatever college-level mathematics courses are commonly taught in American schools (up through calculus). Of course, the kind of education in arithmetic that is appropriate for adults is not the same as what is appropriate for young children $-$ and high school courses in the calculus might differ greatly from their college counterparts. But insofar as the mathematical content is the same, much of the mathematical preparation needed for effective teaching would seem to be the same, regardless of the students' age levels.
Mathematical preparation of the teachers. In decades past, it was traditional to view the preparation of teachers of mathematics, simplistically, through two distinct aspects. Teachers' knowledge of "mathematical content" consisted of owning mathematical concepts and facts $-$ and how those are structured into mathematical theories $-$ together with some mathematical methods for rational learning of such elements. Teachers' knowledge of "pedagogical content" consisted of a vast spectrum that ranged from classroom supervision and peer relations to technologies for imparting specific mathematical ideas or skills.
Through that perspective, it once was commonly believed that it was sufficient for teachers to know little more mathematics than what was needed for their own students to learn $-$ and that effective communications and pedagogy would take care of the rest. Today, the education profession has come to recognize that the needed (MKT) mathematical knowledge for teaching reaches far beyond the mathematics to be taught, even for minimally effective teaching $-$ and even further for optimally effective teaching. For purposes of effectively navigating the students' learning, the teacher needs a map that shows more than just the road that the student is intended to follow. Of course, so educating teachers in whatever MKT they need for their work requires that the teacher educator have even broader (MKTT) mathematical knowledge or teaching teachers.
However, the modern developmental psychology of mathematical learning $-$and the instructional guidance, thereof $-$ also sheds much light on MKT and MKTT. Mathematical knowledge consists not only of knowledge in, about, and through mathematical theories. It also is knowledge about the very nature of mathematics $-$ as a creative art of rational learning $-$ as performed by mankind, by cultures, and by individuals.
The function of mathematics teaching is to guide the learning of mathematics $-$ as such doings occur within the individual learner. For the world of today and the future, the mathematical preparation of teachers must include knowledge of how the human mind continually extends its functional personal mathematical intelligence.
This website cannot serve as a grand repository of professional knowledge about what mathematical preparation is necessary or sufficient for what teachers of what mathematics to be optimally effective in their respective roles. Necessarily, innovation of that kind is distributed throughout the nationwide MTE community. Rather, the role of this website is to help the generators and users of such information to more readily connect with each other.
Herein you will find an expanding webliography of links to the webworks of many organizations, institutions, projects, agencies, and individuals who are collectively striving to strengthen this nation's foundation of professional knowledge about what kind of mathematical preparation American teachers of school-level mathematics should have … and about what they actually do have and are getting … and about how best to close that gap. You also will find brief INTRODUCTIONS to some of the organizations and activities which attend the mathematical preparation of teachers.. Especially notable are cohorts and organizations that function as working groups' in pursuit of specific missions and related activities or products.
Expansion. In the fall of 2008, this website was created as a communications service for a newly created (MPET) network on the mathematical preparation of elementary teachers. Originally conceived as functioning as a single "Working Group", the MPET-Net now functions, instead, as a network of individuals, organizations and autonomous working groups.
The earlier MPET Network continues to enjoy its own sections of this website, as it continues to focus on the preparation of elementary teachers $-$ while the encompassing MPT Network attends the mathematical preparation of all teachers of school-level mathematics.
To be sure, college programs designed specifically for the mathematical preparation of teachers, as teachers of mathematics presently focus mostly on pre-service teachers of below-high schools. A commonplace myth has been that the mathematics curriculum for mathematics majors provides adequate mathematical preparation for high school teachers – and another is that college mathematics teachers necessarily have adequate mathematical preparation for teaching school-level courses. By itself, the falsity of those two myths justifies extending the scope of the MPT Network to attend the mathematical preparation of ALL teachers of school-level mathematics.
Register. This website serves also as a virtual "hub" for the MTE community's network on the (MPT) mathematical preparation of teachers. Organizations and individuals who formally register into the e-mail directory receive occasional news, including notices of what changes have recently been made to this site. To register, send a "register me" e-mail $-$ with name and e-mail address $-$ to gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm#gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm.
Privacy. The MPT-Net directory might be occasionally published on this website. if you do not want your name to be included, DO NOT REGISTER. In order to get the latest updates, you still will be able to access the website. Just set the URL as a "favorite", and click on the "update news" option on the side-bar.
Contribute. As a "networking" website, this one is not intended to gather, assemble, synthesize, and disseminate a body of knowledge about MPT of school-level mathematics.. Rather, functions of that kind are left to the various Working Groups., organizations, and individuals who constitute the MPT Network. Instead, this website's primary purpose is to ensure that viewers can readily access whatever information they need, that is available through weblinks from this site.
This is your medium for networking, and your opportunity for enabling your colleagues to gain the information they need. Please help by contributing weblinks, information and leads that can help strengthen the MTE community's knowledge base regarding the mathematical preparation of teachers of school-level mathematics.
Your own participation and contributions can help to make a difference. Volunteer your help in gathering and posting pertinent information. E-mail your offers of service or of information to gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm#gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm.
Hosting. This MPT-Net website service for the MTE community is provided by the American Institute for the Improvement of MAthematics LEarning and Iinstruction, a 501(c)(3) not for profit, educational research and service organization $-$ a.k.a. The MALEI Mathematics Institute. You may contact the MALEI Institute via gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm#gro.etutitsniscitamehtam|ten-tpm.
