{"id":116704,"date":"2023-07-10T14:00:25","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T19:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=116704"},"modified":"2023-07-10T15:13:32","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T20:13:32","slug":"cmse-addresses-teacher-shortage-with-middle-math-endorsement-pathway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/cmse-addresses-teacher-shortage-with-middle-math-endorsement-pathway\/","title":{"rendered":"CMSE Addresses Teacher Shortage with Middle Math Endorsement Pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Corliss Wesley, Carla Martin and Jasmine Russell explore the volume of rectangular prisms using wooden inch cubes as part of the Middle Math Institutes at the Center for Mathematics and Science Education. Submitted photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. \u2013This summer, 15 Mississippi teachers will be ready to help address a critical teacher shortage in the state after completing <\/span>the Middle Math Institutes<\/span><\/a> at the <\/span>Center for Mathematics and Science Education<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Created in 2021, the institutes serve a crucial role in minimizing the number of middle school math teacher vacancies in Mississippi by familiarizing licensed teachers who are already invested in a community with math content taught in grades 6-8.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Ninety-four<\/span><\/a> of Mississippi\u2019s 137 school districts experienced a critical teacher shortage in the 2022-23 school year. The state\u2019s STEM teacher shortage is so severe that <\/span>it made headlines in The Washington Post<\/span><\/a> earlier this year. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Of all subject areas, middle school math saw 123 vacancies, the highest number of middle school teacher vacancies in the state, according to the <\/span>Mississippi Department of Education<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Participants Chante’ Bonds (left), Alexandria Jackson and Harley Purdy use probability to determine if a game is fair. Submitted photo<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cRecruiting teachers to serve temporarily in rural and high-need areas has not proven to be a particularly sustainable approach to our teacher shortage,\u201d said Julie James, assistant director of professional learning for CMSE. \u201cIt made us think, why not go straight to the source and offer teachers who are already connected to their rural communities a pathway to obtain mathematics content knowledge and credentials?\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Of the 23 teachers who have completed the institute\u2019s training, 20 teach in a critical shortage area.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s sizeable cohort suggests a growing interest in the program that saw four participants earn endorsement in its first year. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Only two other paths are available to a middle school math endorsement: earning a passing score on the Middle Level Math Praxis Exam or taking 18 hours of college-level math courses. The Middle Math Institutes are the only approved professional development program leading to a supplemental endorsement.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The institutes offer more than an understanding of middle school math. Teachers also learn to engage students in the learning process and help students make connections to their previously learned math skills.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this program allowed me to do that the Praxis did not is to tackle the process instead of heading straight to the answer,\u201d said Batesville Junior High teacher Harley Purdy. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re preparing for the Praxis, you\u2019re probably just memorizing formulas. It\u2019s very easy to follow formula steps without understanding why you\u2019re doing what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Participants engaged in interactive, tactile and kinesthetic methods of problem solving. Throughout the four-week program they walked along number lines, scooped up cubes and papered the walls with life-sized bell curves. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

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The graduates of the summer 2023 Middle Math Institutes at the Center for Mathematics and Science Education are the largest cohort to date. Submitted photo<\/p><\/div>\n

“The program gets at the why<\/span> behind formulas and gets everyone involved,” said Tunica Middle School teacher Chant\u00e9 Bonds. “It made things click in a new way. I\u2019m excited to take these methods back to my kids.”<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The CMSE established the Middle Math Institutes to fill the gap left by the discontinuation of the Math Science Partnership projects. In 2018, grant funds that had once been appropriated through No Child Left Behind federal legislation became unavailable and the development programs in middle level math and science were shuttered. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

The program comprises four separate “content institutes”: <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n