Using intention and determination, a former low-performer emerges as one of the best in its district
By Karel Holloway
Results, May 2003
Copyright, National Staff Development Council, 2003. All rights reserved.
Teaching reading and social studies are no problem for most elementary school teachers. But, when it comes to math and science, many of those teachers say they aren't so confident.
Eighty-two percent of elementary teachers say they are well-qualified to teach reading, but only 15% feel that way about the ability to teach physical and earth science. Over half took their last science class more than 10 years ago.
The Teachers Academy of Math and Science was formed in 1991 in Chicago to address these problems by using intensive professional development. During that time, TAMS has developed a track record of helping its partner schools improve their test scores in math and science. The academy uses an integrated approach working with all the teachers in an elementary school to change their teaching environments, improve teachers' math and science knowledge, provide new teaching methods, and offer in-classroom follow-up to aid teachers in applying the new lessons.
The goal is to change what teachers teach and how they teach, and to improve what students learn as a result, said Darlene Ulrich, the program's manager.
The state-funded TAMS has worked with about 430 elementary schools in Chicago, Joliet, East St. Louis and several other Illinois districts at no cost to the schools. "The vision for our program was never really the suburban, the affluent schools. The vision was for the schools with low test scores," Ulrich said. TAMS works only with elementary schools because of the foundation it provides for the upper grades.
In order to participate in TAMS, at least 80% of teachers involved in teaching math and science must agree to the partnership. The school also must gain support from parents and non-instructional personnel.
TAMS delivers its program initially through workshops held at schools or other convenient locations for teachers, sometimes during the school day, sometimes after-school or on Saturdays, depending on the school's needs. Follow-up classroom visits by one of the TAMS instructors is part of the package.
"All my classroom teachers participated in 120 hours of staff development, even my gym teacher, art teacher, librarian, everyone participated," said Alice Vila, principal of John Barry Elementary School in northwest Chicago. "We felt we needed them to be very aware of the principles of teaching math and science."
The wide participation was important, Vila said, because it infused the 900-student school with new goals and new teaching methods. She's seen teachers use the methods to reinforce math and science skills in other disciplines. "The gym teacher makes sure the kids know their angles and the kids do them with their bodies," she said.
TAMS workshops have a dual purpose--to improve teachers conceptual knowledge and provide new teaching techniques. "We are as much of a method class as we are a content class. They are learning as they go. This is the same type of instructional strategy that we want with their children. It's as much process as information," Ulrich said.
For instance, when teachers arrive for one class they find a skein of yarn on their tables. As a group, they must use the yarn to make geometric figures. Even something as simple as making a rectangle prompts a conceptual discussion. Are the angles at the corners right angles? Are parallel sides the same length? The discussion gets more intense as they move into more complicated shapes such as an isosceles triangle.
"Then it gets into 'who remembers what an isosceles triangle is?' " Ulrich said. Teachers get retrained in the basic math concepts, and also learn hands-on ways to teach the ideas.
As important as the actual exercises, the process discussions about them are even more important, Ulrich said. Led by trainers, teachers discuss how this approach could be used in the classroom--what age group it is appropriate for, what knowledge students would need before beginning the exercise.
Teachers also experiment with using instructional stations and talk about what topics could be covered, how they relate to state and school standards, and how materials would be managed.
"The most important part is the processing afterward," Ulrich said.
After teachers work with manipulatives and other materials in workshops, they take them back to their classrooms. These belong to the school and teachers who leave the school must leave the materials.
Once in the classroom, teachers receive seven one-on-one follow up sessions at their schools. Each visit covers a specific topic. A trainer meets with the teacher to talk about a topic and a classroom lesson. The trainer then goes into the classroom with the teacher and they meet afterwards to discuss what happened.
"We tell the teachers we don't want to see their best lesson," Urlich said. The point is to help teachers work on improving.
The follow-up visits allow the teacher to get a professional critique of what went well, what could be improved, and how to improve it.
Principal Vila called the classroom visits the most significant part of the program. The visits followed no single model--in some, the trainer led the class; in others, the trainer acted as a co-teacher, and in still others, the trainer observed. "They tended to do the observation in later visits," she said.
TAMS teachers seem more willing to open their doors, to be observed, critiqued, and to work together. At Metcalfe Community Academy in southside Chicago, teachers have a much better attitude about their classrooms, Principal Michele L. Barton said.
"There is a willingness to participate in staff development. They are not intimidated with people coming in and working with them. The attitude of teachers to accept change is different," she said.
TAMS has achieved solid results. Students at TAMS schools consistently do better on the state achievement test than their peers. For instance, from 1999 to 2002 the percentage of students meeting state standards statewide rose 6%. In East St. Louis and Joliet schools, where most teachers completed TAMS training, the number meeting state standards rose by 20 percentage points.
"They [school officials] attribute this almost wholly to the academy," said Armando Triana, TAMS chief planning officer.
Triana said the program clearly improves teachers' knowledge and classroom performance. He offers an analogy. "A scientist is not someone who knows the formulas and the steps in the experiment. A real scientist enjoys making the discovery," he said. To help students, teachers need to rediscover the process and joy of learning.
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