The program consists of two separate, community-based, facilitated online courses, each composed of six weekly sessions.  Each course is roughly equivalent to a two credit graduate level course.  The courses may be taken separately or in sequence.

Course I: Letting Mathematics Lead

This course focuses on knowledge packages (sequences of skills and knowledge required to master complex subjects), math goals (factual, procedural and conceptual), and defining and assessing evidence of student learning for each type of goal.  Note: Course I will be a helpful, but not required, precursor for Course II.

Session 1: The Architecture of Accomplished Teaching and Mathematics

This session introduces the NBPTS’ Architecture of Accomplished Teaching (AAT), and focuses on the “setting high goals” portion of the architecture to introduce the course.

Session 2: What Should Students Do? (Knowledge Packages, part 1)

The session introduces knowledge packages and participants begin to develop a knowledge package by outlining what they want students to be able to do when learning a particular topic.

Session 3: What Should Students Understand? (Knowledge Packages, part 2)

This session continues building knowledge packages by extending from what students do to what students learn.  The focus is building a progression of conceptual ideas into their knowledge packages, and articulating the connections between the concepts, and between the concepts and their corresponding skills.

Session 4: Defining the Learning for a Lesson

In this session participants work from their existing knowledge packages to select a lesson-sized nugget of material and develop clear lesson goals (factual, procedural and conceptual) that focus on what students are learning, not just what students are doing. 

Session 5: Identifying Measurable Evidence of Learning

This session focuses on defining evidence of students’ learning that shows progress toward the lesson goals, with particular focus on defining evidence of learning for conceptual goals.

Session 6: Reflecting on Course 1

This is a summative session where main points are reiterated and articulated as the foundational elements of a lesson plan, that is, with the goals of the lesson and evidence of achievement of those goals described.  This session also provides an opportunity to reflect back upon the course. 

Course II: Guiding Student Learning

This course focuses on several key instructional pieces that go into guiding student learning effectively: student profiles and a ‘focal’ student approach; classroom culture focused on mathematics learning; aligning goals with instructional methods; and checking for understanding during the lesson. Note: Course I will be a helpful, but not required, precursor for Course II.

Session 1: Who Will You Guide?

This session uses the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching article to set a foundation for the remaining sessions, which parallel the steps of the Architecture not used in Course 1. Thinking begins on step 1, knowing your students, and will be extended in Session 2.

Session 2: Describing Students as Learners of Mathematics

In this session, participants work becoming clear about the difference between using descriptive language and labeling students as they develop profiles of students. The session will solidify the purpose of a student profile, that is, to inform sound instructional decisions for that student.

Session 3: Classroom Culture

This session provides a framework for thinking about classroom culture that is most supportive of mathematics learning.  Participants will identify elements that contribute to the classroom environment and understand how the culture of interaction can support learning of mathematics.

Session 4: Choosing Instructional Methods

This session provides an opportunity to think about different instructional methods and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Participants will focus on aligning the activity to the goal and how to modify the activity based on knowledge of students.

Session 5: Checking for Understanding (CfU) During Instruction

This session has participants think about assessing during instruction and adjusting instruction according to that information.  Participants become familiar with a variety of CfU techniques and consider how to align techniques with lesson goals.

Session 6: Reflecting on Course 2

Participants will create a lesson plan complete with student profiles, description of their activity with the rationale for why they chose a particular instructional method, and the Checking for Understanding techniques they will include and why.  This session will also be an opportunity to reflect back on the course.

The Mathematics Professional Development Teaching Project was supported with a generous grant from the Oracle Corporation®.