A cooperative in-service teacher education program in the new mathematics for elementaryschoolsAuthor(s): O. D. JOHNSSource: The Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 9, No. 4 (APRIL 1962), pp. 221-223Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41186624 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 07:46

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Arithmetic Teacher.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.251 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 07:46:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Expérimental projects and research J. Fred Weaver

A cooperative in-service teacher education program in the new mathematics for elementary schools

0. D. JOHNS The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

L he ability of children to gain insights ♦ into numerical relationships beyond that usually expected on the grade level which matches their chronological age has been demonstrated in a number of action situa- tions;1 and the need for a more sophisti- cated approach to the teaching of arith- metic in the elementary grades is being increasingly recognized.2

The introduction of new content and approaches in the teaching of mathe- matics is forcing a reappraisal of instruc- tional organization and teacher prepara- tion in both elementary and secondary schools. The effective use of the discovery method, which is common to all of the new programs, requires teaching skill of the highest order.8

The problem of teacher preparation is acute even when the team-teaching ap- proach permits a measure of specialization at the elementary level; it becomes critical when school systems attempt to imple-

» Eunice Lewis and Ernest C. Plath, " 'Plus' Work for 'Plus' Pupils," The Arithmetic Teacher, VI (November, 1969), 251-56.

2 G. Baley Рисе, "Progress In Mathematics and Its Impli- cation for the Schools," The Revolution In School Mathe- matics, A Challenge for Administrátora and Teachers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (Washington, D.C.: The Council, 1961), pp. 1-14. > National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, The Revo- lution In School Mathematics, A Challenge for Administrators and Teachers (Washington, D.C.: The Council, 1961), p. 75.

ment new programs while retaining the self-contained classroom organization.

Improvement in instructional programs requires a high degree of cooperation among subject-matter specialists, colleges of education, classroom teachers, and school systems. No longer can schools hope to keep up with rapidly expanding edu- cational needs by requiring teachers to earn from four to six semester hours of credit every three or four years, in ex- tension, evening or Saturday classes, or summer school, on their own time and at their own expense. Industry has been more sensitive than education in recognizing its responsibility for retraining its personnel to deal with the problems growing out of the scientific and technological revolution. Progressive business organizations regu- larly budget substantial sums for this "retooling" operation, and send their ex- ecutives to in-service seminars such as those offered by the American Manage- ment Association.

Colleges and universities are reexamin- ing their teacher education programs, seeking ways to better coordinate their total resources with those of school sys- tems to bring about needed curriculum changes in the elementary and secondary schools.

April 1962 221

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.251 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 07:46:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

The use of television and other newer educational communications media in teacher education is being rapidly ex- panded,4 but the potential of these media for making maximum use of scarce human resources has hardly been tapped.

An experimental project in the teaching of elementary-school mathematics was initiated at the laboratory school of the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma in 1957. This was a joint under- taking involving the high-school mathe- matics department and elementary-divi- sion teachers. The encouraging results of this cooperative approach to the problems of introducing new methods and materials into the elementary-school curriculum sug- gested possible directions for in-service teacher education programs, and led to the sponsorship of a two-day conference, "Breakthroughs in the Teaching of Arith- metic," on the campus of the University, October 16-17, 1959.

School systems were invited to send teacher-administrator teams to the con- ference, and it was suggested that the fee of $15 per team and travel expenses for those in attendance be paid by the respec- tive schools.

The idea that school systems should underwrite a fair share of the costs of im- plementing curriculum change was stressed in all communications with school admini- strators and boards of education. It was pointed out that colleges were anxious to fill the leadership and service roles ex- pected of them, but that it was exceedingly difficult to secure the necessary funds to adequately finance such programs through regular college budgets. It was acknowl- edged that public schools likewise feel the budgetary and manpower pinch, and are usually unable to carry on extensive in- service programs individually; hence the need for cooperative action.

This first conference was attended by seventy-four teachers and administrators,

* Edwin P. Adkins (ed.), Television In Teacher Education, The American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (Washington. D.O.: The Association, 1960), pp. 1-72.

representing thirty-five school systems of Oklahoma. The program featured demon- stration lessons with University School

. pupils and provided opportunities for the exchange of ideas among participants. The conference served the purpose of stimu- lating interest in the new programs in mathematics for the elementary school and laid the groundwork for further work with school systems.

The increasing awareness on the part of teachers and school systems of the need for early participation in experimental pro- grams in elementary arithmetic brought extensive demands on the college to con- duct workshops and provide consultant services. The need to find more efficient ways of utilizing the staff resources of the college to reach the greatest number of

"people led to the establishment of a tele- vision "Arithmetic Workshop" in the fall of 1960, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Television Authority and its stations КЕТА-TV, Oklahoma City, and KOED- TV, Tulsa. The workshop featured tele- casts each Wednesday evening beginning at 6:30 o'clock, during the period from September 21, 1960, to January 25, 1961, and two Saturday conferences on the campus at Norman. Although this was a noncredit, no-fee workshop, participants were asked to register, and to send in ques- tions, comments, and suggestions concern- ing the weekly televised lessons. More than three hundred teachers sent in regis- trations from all sections of the state, and many school systems reported very satis- factory results from teacher participation in the program.

The college continued its efforts in this area with three credit workshops during the summer of 1961. The staff for each of these workshops consisted of a subject- matter specialist and a classroom teacher. However, participants paid their own fees and expenses, and the program was only indirectly related to the curriculum prob- lems of individual schools.

The need for a closer working relation- ship with local school units was felt in both

222 The Arithmetic Teacher

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.251 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 07:46:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

the first television program and the sum- mer workshops. Consequently the possi- bility and desirability of entering into co- operative arrangements with selected school systems were explored in a series of visits with administrators and supervisors of schools which had indicated an interest in introducing new methods and materials into their arithmetic programs. As a result of these conferences, contractural agree- ments were made with the public schools of Oklahoma City and Midwest City under which the College would "furnish such television instruction, conferences, and professional consultation as are re- quired to institute and conduct in-service educational programs in the teaching of arithmetic in the elementary schools, during the school year 1961-62." It was agreed that the program would consist of (1) a weekly televised workshop program, (2) the services of a competent professional consultant to work directly with teachers and school units, and (3) a series of Satur- day conferences on the campus of the Uni- versity of Oklahoma for the teachers of the participating school systems to provide op- portunities for hearing specialists in the field, and for face-to-face discussions on problems growing out of the television presentations and the experiences in the respective schools.

The number of consultative visits and the extent of such services was not spelled out in the agreement, but it was under- stood that these would be sufficient to meet the needs of the respective schools and to carry out the objectives of the program.

For these services, the board of educa- tion of each cooperating school agreed to pay a fixed sum to the college, the first in- stallment to be paid on or before Novem- ber 1, and the second on or before Feb-

ruary 1 of the 1961-62 school year. Thirty-minute television presentations

are taped each Tuesday afternoon, put on the air first at 7 o'clock Tuesday eve- ning, and again at 4 o'clock the following Thursday afternoon. This provides oppor- tunities for teachers to watch the presen- tations at their homes Tuesday evening, or individually or in groups at their respec- tive schools immediately after school dis- missal on Thursday.

The instructor, who also serves as the chief consultant in the field, meets with the participating teachers in each school system in a group session for approxi- mately one hour each week, visits indi- vidual classrooms routinely and by special arrangement, and meets with parent groups on request. The total amount of time budgeted for this consultative work is approximately three days per month in each school system.

The first Saturday conference was held in November, 1961, and others are planned for the second semester of the school year.

An extra dividend accruing from the use of open-circuit television in introducing new curriculum materials is the oppor- tunity provided parents and pupils to learn something of the new subject matter by direct viewing of the telecasts, and this practice is encouraged.

It is too early to draw any valid con- clusions as to the overall success of this project in teacher education, or to predict what form the program will take next year. It is felt, however, that it incorporates many of the elements which are believed to be essential to a sound program, and that the lessons learned from this cooperative undertaking will give direction to future in-service education projects at the Uni- versity of Oklahoma.

April 1962 223

This content downloaded from 194.29.185.251 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 07:46:50 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions