More than 150 middle school, ninth grade, and special education teachers from 22 schools in Kanawha County near Charleston, West Virginia will participate in five days of intensive math content training, as part of Kanawha County Schools’ 2010 professional development objective to help prepare students for high school mathematics. 

Teachers will participate in Carnegie Learning® Developing Algebraic Thinking, one of six Carnegie Learning® Math Academies designed to deepen teacher understanding of math and to provide the experience of learning math in a student-centered classroom. The five-day academies address key algebra concepts including analyzing mathematical tasks; the meaning of fractions, equivalent fractions, and comparing and ordering fractions; and ratio, rates, and proportional reasoning.

“I look forward to seeing the math teachers of Kanawha County come together at the Carnegie Learning Content Academy,” said Crystal J. Godbey, mathematics 6-12 curriculum specialist for Kanawha County Schools. “ We have dedicated, hard-working teachers and are very excited to support them with a week of professional development with meaningful and rich content.”

In addition to five days of instruction, teachers will receive 40 days of in-classroom support to help transfer instructional practices from the academy to the classroom. In-classroom support also focuses on curricula implementation fidelity, classroom management, program monitoring, and data-driven instruction.

Carnegie Learning Managers of School Partnerships (MSPs) observe classrooms and labs, provide relevant feedback to teachers based on the Carnegie Learning Standards-Based Implementation Rubric, make specific recommendations to teachers and school leaders to strengthen implementations, and help them to analyze report data to support accountability.