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Mathematics Specialist Partnership Institute
The NSF Mathematics Specialist Partnership Institute is supporting 50 outstanding middle school teachers to become mathematics specialists. Each teacher participates in a 66 day Institute offered over three consecutive summers; completes a total of 33 graduate credits during the Institute sessions and the subsequent academic years; and participates in various Institute enrichment activities. The teachers will earn a master's degree and certification as a Mathematics Specialist. Each of the 50 participants will serve as a Specialist within their home school district, annually coaching an average of 15 other teachers and impacting 1200 middle school students. Therefore, a total of 750 teachers (50 x 15) and 60,000 students (50 x 1200) will be impacted by the Institute Partnership.

The proposed project is based on the research of a developed and refined program which has prepared and inducted over 250 Mathematics Specialists into K-5 schools in Virginia.

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Project Contributions

Building A Case for Mathematics Specialist Programs
"In 2004, the 'Mathematics Specialists in K-5 Schools: Research and Policy Pilot Study' garnered support from the Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project's focus…
Strong Support for Mathematics Specialists in Virginia
"Strong, consistent support from state and local policy makers is essential to the establishment of effective Mathematics Specialists programs in local school divisions. When policy makers and policy leaders understand…
Elementary Mathematics Specialists: Influencing Student Achievement
A three-year study found that those responsible for coaching math teachers positively affected student academic progress in grades 3, 4, and 5. Read why this effect took time to emerge.
Supporting Middle School Mathematics Specialists' Work: A Case for Learning and Changing Teachers' Perspectives
"In this paper, we highlight one wholeclass discussion that took place in a middle school mathematics Rational Number and Proportional Reasoning course, one of the six mathematics courses teachers take…
MSP Knowledge Management and Dissemination Project
Posted by: Joan Pasley . The Math and Science Partnership Knowledge Management and Dissemination (MSP-KMD) project was funded as a Research, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance project to support knowledge management within the MSP program and…
Math Specialists Coach & Support Effective Math Instruction
Posted by: Bill Haver . The NSF Mathematics Specialist Partnership Institute is being offered to 50 outstanding middle school teachers. Each teacher is participating in a 66 day Institute offered over three consecutive summers; completing…
Virginia House and Senate Resolution
The following resolution was adopted last week by the Virginia House and Senate, recognizing the important contributions of 2 MSP Projects: Preparing Virginia's Mathematics Specialist and …
School Division Leaders Keen on In-School Mathematics Experts
"The members of the policy team for the TPC grant project interviewed 12 school division policy leaders about the important role of mathematics specialists in their school divisions. They discussed…
The Impact of Elementary Mathematics Coaches on Student Achievement
"Elementary mathematics coaches are placed in schools to construct leadership roles and to provide on-site, collaborative, professional development addressing mathematical content, pedagogy, and curriculum in an effort to enhance instruction…
Impact of MSP-prepared Mathematics Specialists on Middle School Instruction and Student Success
In this session we will summarize the results of two projects funded by National Science Foundation grants to train and study Mathematics Specialists in Virginia's elementary schools and then outline…