MONTEREY BAY AREA MATHEMATICS PROJECT: NINE YEARS OF HELPING TEACHERS ENLIVEN THEIR LESSONS

Summer institute to run July 6-21 at UC Santa Cruz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--If you think that only squares like math, you probably had an old-fashioned education: Dull lesson plans, lots of rote exercises, and nothing that seemed to apply to your life. Think again: Teachers are no longer slaves to dry textbooks, and math class has become a livelier part of the school day. But that transition is an ongoing challenge for teachers, and the Monterey Bay Area Mathematics Project is there to help.

The project helps K-12 teachers invigorate their work with hands-on activities that prompt students to think critically, cooperate, and learn how mathematics affects their world. Based at UC Santa Cruz, the project is now in its ninth year and has enrolled more than 200 teachers from schools in the counties of Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.

"We try to get rid of the 'fear factor'--the high anxiety that many teachers have about math," says Edward Migliore, lead instructor for the project and mathematics lecturer at both UCSC and Monterey Peninsula College. "When the teachers learn how to solve problems, they come away with a sense of confidence. That gets communicated in the classroom."

This year, 30 teachers of students in grades 1-8 will attend a summer institute July 6-21 at UCSC and will participate in follow- up activities during the academic year. Project organizers make a special effort to reach out to teachers of underrepresented minority students in the region.

A team of teachers from area schools and community colleges- -including many veterans of previous summer institutes--will join Migliore to teach new and exciting approaches to problem solving, statistics, logic, discrete mathematics, and other topics. Participants will use "replacement units" to supplement parts of their curriculum, such as probability and statistics. Each day, teachers will gather by grade level to discuss how to implement the day's lessons in their classrooms and swap ideas on making the best use of limited resources.

The UCSC program is part of the California Mathematics Project, which sponsors institutes on eighteen University of California or California State University campuses across the state.

Monterey Bay Area Mathematics Project Summer Institute, July 6-21, UC Santa Cruz 1994-95 participants

Monterey County:

Alisal Union School District Bardin Elementary School: Michael McDaniel, 4th

Frank Paul Elementary School: Merilyn Lloyd, 4th; Jenni Watkins, 4th-6th; Janel Yamasaki, 3rd-6th

Sanborn Elementary School: Nicholas Meier, 2nd-3rd; Karen Vail, 3rd-5th

Steinbeck Elementary School: Gary Jones, 3rd

N. Monterey County Unified School Dist. Gambetta Middle School: Bruce Brodie, 7th

Santa Clara County

Campbell Union Elementary School Dist. Campbell Middle School: Grant Parker, 6th

Franklin McKinley School District: Windmill Springs School: Elisa Eidson, 6th-8th; Eva Swope, 5th-8th

Santa Clara Unified School District: Juan Cabrillo Middle School: Kristen Owen, 6th; James Wilks, 6th

Santa Cruz County

Live Oak Elementary School District: Green Acres Elementary School: Peggy Jenkins, 2nd

Live Oak Elementary School: Bonnie Thurston, 2nd

Pajaro Valley Unified School District: Amesti Elementary School: Elaine Brutschy, 4th; Rebecca Milburn, 3rd

Ohlone Elementary School: Diane Bloch, 4th-5th; Johnnie Wilson, 5th

San Lorenzo Valley Unified School Dist.: Redwood Elementary School: Patricia Dussell, 4th; Debra Boivin-Wilkinson, 5th

Santa Cruz City Elementary School Dist.: Gault Elementary School: Patricia Brennan, 4th; Amy Cooperstein, 1st-2nd; Nahara Stamm, 3rd; Nancy Street, 6th

Natural Bridges Elementary School: Jean Hansen,2nd-3rd; Sarah White, 3rd

Scotts Valley Union Element. School Dist.: Vine Hill Elementary School: Linda Alsbury, 4th; Marney Cox, 5th

Soquel Union Elementary School Dist.: Capitola Elementary School: DeDe Anderson, 5th

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