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        Institute for Advanced Study


IAS/PARK CITY MATHEMATICS INSTITUTE (PCMI)

High School Teacher Program  

Sites for the 1999-2001 cycle include:   

California State University at San Bernardino
Rider University (New Jersey)
Rhode Island College
University of Cincinnati
University of Michigan at Dearborn

Because the High School Teacher Program is designed so that teacher participants meet regularly during the academic year, it is necessary for participants to live within a reasonable driving distance of one of the institutions listed above. 

Applications and brochures are available from the Site Directors listed at the bottom of the page.  The application process will begin in March and will continue until all positions are filled.   Participants selected for the program will receive full support, including a stipend.

 

Click here for a complete listing of sites, current and alumni.

Organizers:

Susan Addington, California State University at San Bernardino
James King, University of Washington
Cynthia Hays, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas

    The High School Teacher Program is designed to promote fundamental reform in the content and teaching of high school mathematics. Built around a corps of approximately 35 high school teachers from sites at cooperating universities, the teachers will meet together for the second of their two-year commitment  at the Summer Session of 2000. Following each Summer Session, the teachers within the site groups meet regularly throughout the school year.

    PCMI regards the teacher as the primary agent for promoting and implementing classroom reform. Thus, the High School Teacher Program is designed to enable teachers to make informed decisions about curricular and instructional reforms and to implement change with confidence. Building on the experience of the past eight years, PCMI emphasizes geometric thinking throughout the mathematics curriculum. Courses and activities are designed to develop intuition through experimentation, leading to persuasive reasoning and rigorous thinking.

    Summer Session is a time of intensive professional education and development. Each teacher will deepen his/her knowledge of mathematics, learn new technology, and participate in a vital exchange of pedagogical ideas. By studying how the high school curriculum extends into advanced mathematics, considering familiar topics from new perspectives, and becoming acquainted with current research, teachers can undertake the transformation of the high school curriculum. During the Summer Session, participants coordinate studies of mathematics and classroom implementation, and exchange their own classroom materials and projects.

    During the school year, teachers focus on implementing new ideas in the classroom and communicating their efforts to other teachers, both in their own schools and in their larger communities. University faculty, working with the teachers, organize regular site meetings where teachers discuss their experiences in the classroom and plan outreach activities. Such outreach activities may range from in-service presentations at a local school to presentations on a state or national level.

    The Teacher Newsletter, written and edited by the teachers and circulated three times each year, helps participants from all sites stay in touch. In addition, there is a listserv available for the use of the High School Teacher Program participants during the school year.

    The formal program for the Summer Session is organized around several courses. In addition, there are special programs by guest speakers, teachers-in-residence, and faculty of the Summer Session. Most important, however, are the many opportunities for discussion among the teachers themselves and with participants from the other programs.

High School Teacher Program Courses

Lecturers:

Susan Addington, California State University at San Bernardino
Cynthia Hays, McCallum High School, Austin, Texas
James King, University of Washington

Building Mathematics in the Classroom

Focusing on building connections among curriculum topics and considering different configurations of standard material, this course develops classroom "microcosms" beginning with relatively simple activities which lead into more complex mathematical concepts. Teachers first engage in classroom experiences as their students would, and then discuss how the process and content may be adapted to their own classrooms. Teachers are encouraged to create networks of mathematical concepts using their own ideas.

Teaching Mathematics with Technology

Teachers will use computer software for exploring ideas in geometry and mathematical visualization, as a group and in individual projects. The class will continue to work with The Geometer's Sketchpad and the World-Wide Web but will also investigate the use of other software and graphing calculators for mathematics computation and computer graphics. Participants will be encouraged to develop an individual technology project.

Advanced Mathematics

The Advanced Mathematics course will focus on the geometry of computer graphics in 2 and 3 dimensions. Mathematical topics will include analytic geometry, transformations, vectors and matrices. Special topics such as morphing and perspective will be investigated as time permits. This course will link closely with the Technology course, using software to apply the theory covered in the Advanced Mathematics course.

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How To Apply:

Interested teachers should contact a Site Director or request a brochure about the program from IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute at the address given below. 

Site Directors:

 

Program for Continuing Outreach

PCMI main page

To obtain a brochure, contact
IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute
Institute for Advanced Study
Olden Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540
phone: 1-800-726-4427 fax: 609-683-7605 email: pcmi@math.ias.edu

Direct questions and comments to Catherine Jordan

Geometry is a good thing.