High School Teachers work on a new MINDSET!
For two weeks in August, teachers from across North Carolina and Michigan converged on the Friday Institute for an intensive workshop as part of the MINDSET Project. MINDSET stands for Mathematics INstruction using Decision Science and Engineering Tools and focuses on designing, implementing and evaluating a 4th year mathematics curriculum based upon operations research and industrial engineering. The idea is to teach math with a focus on decision making in business that will improve a student’s attitude toward math, especially in underserved populations.
The curriculum that has been created is being showcased to the teachers who will then pilot chapters of it in their classroom. The feedback received from teachers and students helps to revise and improve the curriculum being developed. The goal is to have an alternative math option for students after Algebra II. In both North Carolina and Michigan, as well as other states, a fourth year mathematics course is now required for graduation and not all students are inclined to take Pre-Calculus/Calculus.
Feedback from the teachers has been very positive and most are returning to the project for the second year. Participants from the previous year have said that the skills they learned at this workshop helped them teach all of their classes not just the ones associated with the project.
For more information about the MINDSET Project, visit their website.
This post is part of the series Project News