Contents
ARTICLES & ANNOUNCEMENTS (NATIONAL FOCUS)
(1) The Secretary’s Mathematics and Science Initiative
Source: U.S. Department of Education – 5 February 2003
URL: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/describe.html
“As information becomes ever more quantitative and as society relies increasingly on computers and the data they produce, an innumerate citizen today is as vulnerable as the illiterate peasant of Gutenberg’s time.” (Steen, 1997, p. xv, Preface: The New Literacy, in L. A. Steen [Ed.], Why numbers count. New York: College Entrance Examination Board).
Background
When the federal government last launched a major initiative promoting mathematics and science education after Sputnik, within 12 years, America had upgraded mathematics and science education, launched satellites, and seen its astronauts orbit the Earth and land on the Moon. Since then, however, federal attention to elementary and secondary science and mathematics education has waned. Student achievement scores often fall below international standards, mathematical and scientific literacy is not adequate for full participation as productive citizens in the 21st Century, and the pathway to jobs in mathematics, science, technology, and engineering is not full of people determined to become professionals in these areas, nor is the composition of those who are on the pathway representative of the group that began the journey. It is essential to develop a new generation of citizens who have the mathematical and scientific skills to create and understand new strategies and technologies to keep America safe and prosperous. The Administration will, therefore, launch a major five-year Mathematics and Science Initiative to improve mathematics and science achievement, focused on three broad goals:
1. Conducting a broad-based public engagement campaign that draws attention to the need for better mathematics and science education in our nation’s schools. Parents must know what children should study to prepare for success in a world requiring a greater knowledge of science and mathematics than their parents needed. Students must understand the benefits of careers in mathematics and science and the need to prepare throughout school for them. And the public must realize that advances in technology and productivity, necessary for the U.S. to remain competitive in the global economy, depend on all students learning more mathematics and science than is currently required, and also on increasing the number of students who extend their mathematical knowledge beyond algebra so they may proceed to more advanced scientific and technical subjects.
The Initiative will work with the business community; professional organizations of mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and educators; and researchers to: (a) define the concepts that all students must master; (b) sponsor events that excite students and parents about scientific and mathematical careers; (c) bring science and mathematics professionals into schools to work with students and teachers; and (d) send teachers and students to work with such professionals at the scientific job site. Businesses and federal departments and mission agencies will develop the messages and dissemination efforts, while coordinating their programs and materials with state standards in mathematics and science. Interactions between scientists and mathematicians and policymakers may strengthen state standards.
2. Initiating a major campaign to recruit, prepare, train, and retain teachers with strong backgrounds in mathematics and science. To increase the number of new teachers with strong backgrounds in mathematics and science, the campaign will work with colleges of arts and sciences, colleges of education, teacher training programs, school districts, and states to ensure strong content knowledge in both today’s and tomorrow’s teachers through professional development programs known to boost student achievement. It will also promote promising alternative routes to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers.
3. Developing a major academic research base to improve our knowledge of what boosts student learning in mathematics and science in the classroom.Teachers need to know what programs and strategies are effective in improving student achievement in mathematics and science. A rigorous research agenda will seek to specify the learning processes essential for success in a wide range of learners, to identify effective instructional strategies, and to transmit that information to all who need it. Research will aim to: identify workforce requirements and citizenship needs related to mathematics and science, better understand student learning in mathematics and science, explain successful interventions, and develop and apply valid assessment tools to measure progress and need.
The U. S. Department of Education (ED), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as other federal departments and mission agencies involved in education and workforce development, will work together to develop the particulars of this Initiative and to assure its success.
First Step
The first step in the Secretary’s Mathematics and Science Initiative, the Mathematics Summit, has been called to announce the Initiative and to accomplish five things:
1. To announce participants the three critical goals to be addressed by this new initiative, a critical component of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.
2. To emphasize that the three goals are components of a whole that must come together to succeed. To be successful, the objectives and plans for activities that will follow must be research-based, understood by parents and America’s communities, and assure that each child has a talented, well-prepared teacher of mathematics and science for every level and course.
3. To encourage participants to work after the Summit on the development of action plans for each of the three goals which will make this Initiative a success.
4. To encourage participants, as leaders of their peer groups, to participate in follow-up working sessions and support the on-going work necessary to realize the three goals.
5. To reinforce that while these goals will not be easily met, they are essential. The Secretary knows that meeting them is necessary to achieving the President’s top domestic priority. He will, therefore, spare no pains to assure their fulfillment and encourages all participants to do the same.
(2) Paige Convenes Mathematics Summit (Press release)
Source: U.S. Department of Education – 6 February 2003
URL: http://www.ed.gov/PressReleases/02-2003/02062003c.html
U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige today convened a mathematics summit at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C., to discuss ways to improve student achievement and instruction, further engage the public, develop a research base, and enhance teacher knowledge.
“Improving mathematics and science education is essential to upgrading America’s students’ status internationally and maintaining our role as leaders in technology and engineering,” Paige said. “This summit is the first step in our five-year mathematics and science initiative, which will help develop the next generation of scientists and engineers who help America stay strong and keep our country safe.”
Secretary Paige’s mathematics and science initiative is being developed and implemented by the department, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health, and NASA, as well as other federal agencies involved in education and workforce development. The three major goals of the initiative are to:
* Conduct a broad-based public engagement campaign that draws attention to the need for better mathematics and science education;
* Initiate a major campaign to recruit, prepare, train, and retrain teachers with strong backgrounds in mathematics and science; and
* Develop a major academic research base to improve our knowledge of what boosts student learning in mathematics and science.
Participants in the meeting included representatives from business, academia, and the federal government. More than 100 attendees from the mathematics and science community, foundations, and professional organizations, were also expected.
In addition to Paige, participants included President Bush’s Science Advisor John H. Marburger, III; Grover “Russ” Whitehurst, director, Institute of Education Sciences; Rita Colwell, director, NSF; U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Mich.; Tom Loveless, Brookings Institution; Bill Schmidt, Michigan State University; Craig Barrett, Intel Corporation; NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick Gregory; Alejandro Adem, University of Wisconsin; and Deborah Ball, University of Michigan.
Presentations and papers from the summit are available on the new Mathematics & Science Initiative website: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience. An archive of summit proceedings will be available in a few days.
(3) Agenda and Links to Speeches–Secretary’s Summit on Mathematics
Source: U.S. Department of Education – 5 February 2003
URL: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/agenda.html
Date: 6 February 2003 Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center Amphitheatre, Washington, DC
Agenda [(including links to speeches) Check the Web site above for updates and additions, including a webcast of conference proceedings (expected to be available by Monday, February 10, if not by this weekend).]
9:00 — Welcome, Purpose, and Introductions — Secretary Rod Paige
http://www.ed.gov/Speeches/02-2003/02062003.html
9:15 — Mathematics in the 21st Century — Science Advisor to the President, John H. Marburger, III
9:30 — Establishing the Need
* National Perspective: Tom Loveless, Brookings Institution (“Trends in Math Achievement: The Importance of Basic Skills”)
Speech: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/loveless.html
Slides (pdf): http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/loveless.pdf
* International Perspective: William Schmidt, Michigan State University
Speech: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/schmidt.html [TIMSS]
Slides (pdf): http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/schmidt.pdf
* Congressional Perspective: Congressman Vern Ehlers
* Corporate Perspective: Craig Barrett, Intel Corporation
Speech: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/barrett.html
10:05 — Developing A Research Base — Overview of Current Research — Grover “Russ” Whitehurst, Director, Institute of Education Sciences
Speech: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/whitehurst.html
Slides (pdf): http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/whitehurst.pdf
10:40 — Enabling Connections — NSF Director Rita Colwell
Speech: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/colwell.html
10:50 — Engaging the Public — Educator Astronaut: NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick Gregory
11:10 — Improving Teacher Knowledge
* What students should learn: Alejandro ?dem, University of Wisconsin (“Keys to Success: What Students Should Learn in Mathematics”)
Speech: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/adem.html
* What teachers should learn: Deborah Loewenberg Ball, University of Michigan
11:30 — Administration Proposals and Charge to the Community: Secretary Rod Paige
(4) Message to Those Attending the Mathematics Summit: Next Steps
Source: U.S. Department of Education – 5 February 2003
URL: http://www.ed.gov/inits/mathscience/next_steps.html
Thank you for attending the Secretary’s Summit on Mathematics held on February 6, 2003 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. We will be holding a follow-up meeting to discuss the issues addressed today and to begin developing action steps. That meeting will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2003, from 9-4 at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
The follow-up meeting will explore the three goal areas addressed at the summit:
* Developing a Research Base
* Engaging the Public
* Improving Teacher Knowledge
Action Teams will be formed around each of these three areas.
Our discussions in the morning will cut across all three areas. We will begin with a synopsis of the Summit, the issues discussed there, and the responses sent by participants to the question of the relevant activities of their organizations.
After the morning discussion, we will break into small groups to achieve three purposes:
1. Discover relevant activities under way or planned for the near term.
2. Bring these activities into increasingly better coordination and focus.
3. Recruit individual organizations, etc., to be involved on one of the three goal-based teams
We hope you will attend and join these discussions and a working group.
In order to participate, please do two things:
First, use the attached sheet to indicate your interest in continuing to be involved in the initiative.
Second, please send via e-mail a one-page description of each of the activities your organization sponsors that support the goals of the Mathematics and Science Initiative: (1) increasing public understanding; (2) improving teacher quality; and (3) supporting high-quality research. This description will be shared with those involved with developing the action plans for the Initiative. Please address:
* Goal area of the activity
* A brief summary
* Purpose
* Accomplishments/Results
* Plans for the next 12 months…
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[Response form]…In response to your request that my organization and I consider which of the three working groups we might join, I am volunteering that we (__________________) be added to the list for the topic(s) checked below:
a. Public Engagement ___
b. Improving Teacher Knowledge ___
c. Developing A Research Base ___
Here is the appropriate contact information:….
I will also submit one-page descriptions of our efforts to improve mathematics and science education as it relates to the three topics.