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University of Maryland Eastern Shore – Progress Report

• Principal Investigator: Daniel M. Seaton
• Topic of Minigrant: Capstone Course Consortium
• Duration of Minigrant: December15, 2004 - December 15, 2005
• Date for Visit by PMET Monitor, given by PI: Please schedule the site visit at your pleasure.

Activities and Progress

UMES proposes to develop, pilot, evaluate, and disseminate a capstone courses for prospective and practicing school mathematics teachers according to MET II recommendations, elevate concern for mathematics teacher education as a departmental priority, produce materials suitable for widespread distribution, and facilitate networks that enhance further improvement.

The purposes of this PMET Mini-grant proposal are to:

1. Create capstone courses for pre-service mathematics teachers consistent with the recommendations of the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences in The Mathematical Education of Teachers, Volume II (MET II);
2. Elevate concern for mathematics teacher education as a Departmental priority; and
3. Increase the capacity of UMES to network with local school mathematics teachers and other universities currently engaged in improving mathematics education for teachers.

Personnel within the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at UMES working toward the goals of the PMET Project have:

1. Planned, implemented, and evaluated a Summer Enhancement Institute utilizing “pedagogy implicit settings” for 31 teachers of mathematics serving in local K-12 school districts.
2. Created (offered fall /04) two capstone courses for local middle school teachers working toward State certification: (1) Topics in Geometry and (2) and Statistics.
3. Supported a consultant to provide University faculty and local teachers with professional development relative to Capstone Courses in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Research in Mathematics Sciences (Ocean City, MD May 26-28, 2004).
4. Published Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Research in Mathematics Sciences (Ocean City, MD May 26-28, 2004) Conference Proceedings that includes plenary session on Capstone Courses and research on effective use of pedagogy implicit settings for teacher development.
5. Supported four local mathematics teachers to participate in the Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Research in Mathematics Sciences Conference (Ocean City, MD May 26-28, 2004).