PRIME – Title II Partnership Subgrant

Worcester County Public Schools and Salisbury University

 

PRIME is a two year $200,000 federally funded grant. The purpose is to train teachers in the use technology and active learning to transform how geometry is presented in the classroom. There will be two 2 week workshops (one in summer 2004 and the other in summer 2005).

 

Geometry Workshops – Summer 2004 and Summer 2005

 

Intended audience: Middle and high school teachers of mathematics.

 

The goals of both workshops are to:

 

  • Examine current and innovative pedagogies related to the teaching and learning of geometry.
  • Explore some interesting geometries and geometrical notions that can be brought into the high school and middle school curriculum.
  • Expand teachers’ knowledge of geometry.
  • Integrate the geometry covered with some of the teachers’ own geometry resources and curriculum materials.
  • Integrate technology and manipulatives into the study of geometry.

 

The NCTM Standards will be used to determine the content taught and the teaching methods employed during each workshop. The NCTM Navigations series and the NSF funded curricula which model the NCTM Standards will be drawn upon as major sources for geometry content activities. The content will be explored with the instructors acting as facilitators and guides to the material. The workshops will be hands-on and designed to enhance the geometrical understanding of the participants and their knowledge of how students learn geometry.  Together the instructors and participants will develop activities that can be brought into the geometry curriculum of the participants. In addition, participants will explore how the geometry they teach connects to the geometry taught at other grade levels.

 

The software package Geometer’s Sketchpad will be used for both courses. A computer lab will be available for participants’ use and instruction for beginners on how to use the software will be provided. More specialized software for certain topics will also be incorporated into the workshops as needed. Participants will be given the opportunity to craft Sketchpad activities appropriate for the grade level they teach.

 

Learning Matters Video Clip

 

2005 Workshop

 

Information about the 2004 PRIME Geometry Workshop can be obtained from the following link:

 

2004 Workshop