PHILOSOPHY
The Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative is a comprehensive effort to improve mathematics instruction and student learning. The Initiative is based on two central beliefs or theories of action:
- Positive change is education that occurs through a continuous loop of focusing on high standards, assessing students’ works to the standards, examining students’ products and analyzing students’ understandings from the assessments, developing effective educational strategies and practices that are consistent with the findings, and tailoring instruction to enhance student learning and understanding.
- Improved achievement is an outcome of improved instruction. Improved instruction is an outcome of ongoing, comprehensive, intensive professional development.
COMPONENTS
The Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative was established and is supported by the Noyce Foundation. The Foundation works in conjunction with the Santa Clara Valley Math Project that serves as both a mathematics professional development provider and fiscal agent for many of the components of the Initiative. In developing structures, programs and practices consistent with the beliefs above, the Initiative work is based on high performance expectations, ongoing professional development, and improved math instruction. The Silicon Valley Mathematics Initiative involves several inter-related components that include the following:
- Performance assessment: Teachers regularly use formative performance assessment to inform their instruction. Often teachers form formative assessment groups, where teachers collaboratively select, administer and score student performance assessments. They then engage in conversations to delineate and discuss students’ understandings, misconceptions and areas in which more instruction is required. In addition to using the formative assessments, teachers use the MAC/MARS/BA exams as a summative performance assessment given annually each spring. The MARS/BA exam is aligned with national standards and is developed by the Mathematics Assessment Resource Service, and published by CTB McGraw-Hill.
- Pedagogical content coaching: Through intensive in-class coaching, math teachers improve instruction by focusing on important content concepts and by developing techniques to support all students. Coaching involves an ongoing process of pre-teaching conferences, in-class experiences and post-conferences. The focus of the pedagogical content coaching is on students’ thinking, understandings and work products. Coaches vary the roles they play from modeling to team-teaching to leading. Key to being an effective coach is listening and asking questions to develop the teacher’s own capacity. Often the coach works with teachers outside of class, sometime in teams, on student work examinations, mathematics, lesson planning, and other professional development experiences. District coaches receive ongoing professional development on instructional strategies, learning theory and mathematics.
- Ongoing systemic professional development: Teachers, district math coaches, and site leaders attend intensive summer training. These experiences include a leadership institute for math leaders and coaches to enhance their own professional development. At the end of summer a coaching institute is provided for math coaches and teams of teacher leaders or site leaders from their district. Some districts hold summer lab schools where professional development activities are woven into a summer school teaching experience that involves team teaching and coaching. Throughout the year, coaches lead workshops for teachers that include developing cross-grade articulation, scoring student work, training in math content areas and discussing classroom videos. Principals and key district personnel attend training in instructional leadership, school change and math content knowledge.