Center for Mathematics Achievement

Professional Learning Opportunities

If your school or district is looking for math professional development, we offer a variety of services that will increase student achievement and lead to improvement in student and teacher perceptions of mathematics. Explore our offerings, and contact us at 617-349-8311 or mathachievement@lesley.edu to discuss how we can help you. The best option is a combination of services. According to the Institute of Education Sciences (PDF), effective professional development displays three primary characteristics:

- It's sustained over time
- It’s collaborative
- It allows teachers to practice concepts.

That’s why we offer professional development through various opportunities. We want to ensure that our collaboration and partnerships are effective.

• Teacher and Leadership Development

  Professional learning opportunities on-site or remotely via video conferencing: 

  Teacher and Leadership Learning Opportunities

  • Learning Walk Facilitation: Are you looking for external partners to advise and offer feedback on your school or district’s implementation of a specific math curriculum or of math learning in general? Sign up to conduct a Learning Walk with one of our Math Education Experts where you will observe classroom learning using our very own research-based protocol. We provide guidance, next steps, and feedback in an easy-to-digest manner.  
  • Teacher Learning Opportunities: We collaborate with you to offer personalized workshops and learning opportunities for teachers, paraprofessionals, and those who have direct impact on student learning. We customize these workshops to meet the needs of your school or district’s specific needs and meet teachers where they are.
  • Leadership Learning Opportunities: As educators improve their practice, it’s also critical that leaders do, too. We offer workshops for leadership teams to analyze their practice, deepen their mathematical content knowledge, and understand what to look for when evaluating mathematics teaching and learning.
  • Professional Learning topics:
    Select an option from this list or request something new. Either way we’ll tailor the experience to your needs.
    • Teaching Mathematics in a Remote Environment
    • Deepening Mathematical Discourse in Distance Learning
    • How to Use Virtual Manipulatives, Digital Whiteboards, and Math Apps to Leverage Distance Learning Instruction in Mathematics
    • Aligning Curriculum with Content Standards
    • Deepening Understanding of the Standards for Mathematical Practice
    • Differentiating Math Instruction to Meet All Needs
    • Enhancing Instructional Routines to Promote Conceptual Development
    • Exploring Number Talks and Other Sensemaking Routines
    • Incorporating Formative Assessment Strategies
    • Elevating Mathematical Discourse in the Classroom
    • Integrating Accommodations and Modifications to Reach All Learners
    • ...and many more!
• Mathematics Content Coaching

  It’s nice to hear the “in theory” advice, but we all know that classrooms are complex spaces where one small shift can have a large effect on whether students leave class with confidence and understanding. To help, we come into your classroom to offer high-quality content coaching with the goal of improving the teaching and learning of mathematics.

  In this model, we start by pre-conferencing through planning a lesson with a teacher or group of teachers, followed by co-teaching that very lesson. We then do a post-conference to debrief and cultivate ideas for how we can collectively improve our work. 

  We also offer e-coaching if your school prefers a remote content coaching model.

• Family and Community Workshops

  We help families understand how and why the way we teach math today is different from the way most adults learned. In addition to providing our own workshops, we also help schools and districts develop their own family math nights and information sessions.

  If you're looking for more information on engaging families, our center director has co-written Adding Parents to the Equation and an accompanying free book guide to provide families support. She also offers a free 3-minute video (closed captioned in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese) that you can share with parents to explain why today’s mathematics looks different than it did in the past. You can also offer your families a learning community through her free Facebook Group for caregivers.

  She is able to work with your district to run book studies, workshops, webinars, or other engagements to ensure your families can communicate mathematically with their children.

• Assessment of Curricular Alignment or Systemic Structures

  We help with research and resources for selection, implementation, and alignment of curriculum. Whether you’re struggling to implement your current curriculum or looking to pick a new one, we can provide assistance.