News Release

Math option now offered in education master’s degree

June 16, 2009

Schoolteachers and administrators working to improve their students’ proficiency in mathematics have another academic partner at Penn State Harrisburg.

Beginning this fall, the college’s established master’s degree program in Teaching and Curriculum will offer an option in Mathematics Education for those educators who teach math, write math curriculum, coach, or supervise math teachers. Introduced in 1996 with considerable curricular input from teachers and administrators, the Teaching and Curriculum program has enhanced the skills of nearly 1,900 teachers since its inception.

The 12-credit option in the fully accredited 30-credit master’s program is targeted to all grade levels and will “provide courses emphasizing current research and curriculum shifts related to teaching math in K-12 classrooms and will represent math concepts in various ways to adapt to various learners,” points out Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education Jane Wilburne.

The need to improve math education in the nation is well-documented. Wilburne adds, “Penn State Harrisburg has seen an increase in the number of master’s degree students enrolling in courses related to math due, in part, to the emphasis on improving performance on state assessments in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. For that reason, it was natural for us to develop the math option.”

A 2008 study by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a nonpartisan research and advocacy group, found that many elementary school teachers are poorly prepared to teach math. And the 2005 National Academies’ Rising Above the Gathering Storm report claimed almost 30 percent of America’s high school mathematics students have teachers who either did not major in the subject in college or are not certified to teach it. Data also showed that America’s 15-year-olds ranked 24th out of 29 developed nations in math literacy and problem-solving and less than half of America’s high school graduates are prepared for college-level math.

Data from the state’s Department of Education show that although student achievement in math continues to rise, there remains a great need for capable mathematics instruction. Commenting on the 2008 Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak said, “We have seen dramatic gains across the commonwealth…but we also have a significant challenge ahead of us: with struggling students in every school district, including large numbers in under-funded districts and in our high schools.”

And while the school districts in Dauphin County have shown progress in math proficiency, the 2008 scores from the PSSA indicate not all children are reaching acceptable levels. The percentage of students in county school districts whose scores show they are not proficient in the math standards tested on the PSSA range from 13.5 in one district to more than 70 in another.

The Penn State Harrisburg math option is aimed at “improving teaching so student math proficiency will improve,” Wilburne says. “The program will focus on helping teachers understand big ideas, not just computation, along with enhanced math problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills, and improved content knowledge.”

A recent 3-credit class in the master’s program, Algebra and Functions Across the Curriculum, served as one of the pilot courses for the math option as the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education began enhancing its already-extensive dialog in teaching concepts.

“The class brought math teachers from the middle and high school levels into the same classroom with elementary teachers,” Wilburne points out. “I have to admit there was some student pessimism at first, but that quickly turned into a rich dialog in math teaching concepts among them.

Taking an academic view of how proficiency in math begins at the lower grades, the group created cooperative lesson plans which detailed what should be in math lessons from kindergarten through grade 12. “Since elementary education lays the groundwork for success in middle and high school math, the teacher/students have now recognized a need for district-wide cohesion in curriculum and welcomed the opportunity to work with and learn from other math teachers from all grade levels,” Wilburne adds.

With the slogan of “Math Teachers Multiply Your Chances,” the 28 teachers from 16 school districts in the course termed the experience rich and the networking opportunity valuable.

“It’s all about how to reach students,” Wilburne concludes.