President Obama Announces 1 Billion in Funding for STEM Master Corps

Many K-12 STEM educators do not hold a certification in their fields. In response to this, as well as to new CCSS standards, President Obama has announced one billion dollars in funding for training of 20,000 new K-12 STEM teachers in his 2013 budget. This funding will create a “Master Corps” of educators designed to not only have the teaching expertise required of all K-12 educators, but specific training in upper-level science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Members of this STEM Master Corps will receive a $20,000 yearly federal stipend in addition to their base salary.

This commitment is part of a larger program, the RESPECT Project (Recognizing Educational Success, Professional Excellence, and Collaborative Teaching), a five billion dollar program designed to increase the quality of K-12 STEM education. The Master Teaching Corps and RESPECT programs are a set of strategies for advancing STEM education.  The President has made STEM education a focal point of his educational platform, even mentioning it in his last State of the Union address.

Do you think that this will improve the state of STEM education in this country? Share your thoughts about this initiative. Are you a studying to be a teacher? If so, would you consider joining the Master Corps?

Math Solutions Introduces New Titles for CCSS Prep

The Common Core State Standards offer the benefit of ensuring that all students receive the levels of instruction that will provide them the tools to be successful adults. However, these new standards create challenges for students and educators alike.

Math Solutions® has introduced five new titles designed to help with the transition to the new CCSS for math:

1. Solving for Why: Understanding, Assessing, and Teaching Students Who Struggle with Math by John Tapper
This title uses a response to intervention (RTI) approach that incorporates mini-assessments and targeted strategies for addressing deficits.  A resource for grades kindergarten through eighth grade.
2. Teaching Preschool and Kindergarten Math: A Multimedia Professional Learning Resource by Ann Carlyle and Brenda Mercado
This resource offers 26 videos and 150 lessons. A resource for pre-K and kindergarten.
3. It Makes Sense! Using the Hundreds Chart to Build Number Sense by Melissa Conklin and Stephanie Sheffield
Designed for kindergarten through second grade, this is the second book in the It Makes Sense! series. The title features games and creative methods of teaching with the CCSS math in mind.
4. It's All Connected: The Power of Representation to Build Algebraic Reasoning by Frances Van Dyke
A resource for older students, grades six through nine, this title focuses on using graphic representation of algebraic concepts. This features forty creative lesson plans.
5. Number Talks: Reproducible Dot Images and Five- and Ten-Frames by Sherry Parrish 
This resource is designed for kindergarten through fifth grade. It features downloadable content with over 250 reproducible exercises for students.

Have you used any of these resources? If so, leave a review in the comments section. If you know of any other resources that can help students and teachers prepare for the Common Core State Standards, share them here too!

A Big Problem? The Role of Childhood Obesity and Math Performance

A child’s acquisition of math skills may be related to health factors, a new study by Sara Gable, Jennifer L. Krull, and Yiting Chang.  The study followed thousands of K-5 students and found a relationship between poor mathematical performance and childhood obesity. Consistently lower mathematical performance in obese students was noted. However, the reason for this correlation remains unknown. Does childhood obesity lower cognitive skills? Or are obesity and low math performance symptomatic of another condition, such as poverty, parental involvement, or emotional health?

This echoes previous studies that have linked mental ability and physical health. A 2009 study in The Journal of School Health found that as levels of passing scores on physical fitness test rose, so did scores on standardized exams in math and English.

These studies seem to imply that the health of the body is linked to the acuity of the mind. What do you think? Have you found that you can "think clearer" after moderate exercise? It is tempting to link these findings back to earlier Math Hub discussions about student coping strategies around math anxiety and turning math fear into mastery. Do these studies support a holistic approach to childhood education? Or maybe there is no causation; maybe obesity and poor math skills are both symptoms of a larger problem. What are your thoughts?

Using Technology to Teach Connections between Math and Music

Researchers at Drexel University have teamed up with the Philadelphia Philharmonic to help students conceptualize music in mathematical terms. The team designed a software program, iNotes, to accompany live musical presentations at the Philadelphia Philharmonic. The technology also can provide cultural, historical, and technical information about the score. For example, a student using iNotes to accompany Tchaikovsky’s "1812 Overture" might view information about Napoleon’s failed invasion of Russia in 1812, the event that inspired the score. Or iNotes may provide information on the type of drum used in a live performance that emulates the characteristic cannon fire of the overture. 

In addition to the development of this application, the team has created the Summer Music Technology program (SMT) at Drexel University. This program uses technology to teach middle school and high school students the connections between mathematics and music. For example, students are exposed to technology that enables them to "see" music as a graph or an algorithm. This information is then applied by showing how web-based music services such as Pandora use the mathematical interpretation of music toidentify a user’s musical taste and make corresponding song recommendations.

Visit Musicalgorithms >

This is not the only program that explores the mathematical interpretation of music. The website "Musicalgorithms,"  hosted by Eastern Washington University and funded by the Northwest Academic Computing Consortium (NWACC), allows users to upload audio files and receive algorithms that correspond to components of the music.

Linking music and mathematics may help students see the relevance in math education, may increase the "fun" factor while learning about algorithms, and in this blogger’s opinion – is downright interesting.  Share your thoughts below.