Mathematics Teacher Resources

Are you interested in spicing up your lessons without losing depth of mathematical content? There are seemingly endless electronic resources available for mathematics teaching. Which sites will help you find resources to support teaching of a particular standard? Which resources will help your students develop a solid understanding of mathematics? Which are geared primarily toward basic skills? Which focus on procedures? Which are mathematically sound – or not?

In the links below you will find resources to support a wide range of mathematics content teaching. These sites focus on developing conceptual understanding along with procedural skills. In the table provided for each site you will find a brief description of the resource, connections to the California standards, links to lesson plans contributed by other teachers and links to comments teachers have made about the material. Please share your experiences and lesson plans with others by uploading them through appropriate links in the table.

Online Resources by Grade Level and Curriculum Area

Resources for grades 6 and 7

Resources for grades 8 through 12

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (www.merlot.org)

This free online library of web-based teaching and learning materials has been developed for educators around the world. You can find online materials in:
(These pages will open in new windows)

 

California Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs)

Effective teacher preparation is a multi-year process. With this in mind, the developers of 2042 program standards derived a set of outcomes specifically for pre-service candidates, known as the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs). Teaching Performance Expectations address multiple and overlapping knowledge and skill domains and provide the basis for course design and assessment for candidates. California teacher candidates are required to demonstrate competency in the TPEs upon being hired.

California teacher candidates are required to to demonstrate competency in the TPEs upon being hired. Click here for a full descriptioin of the TPE’s.

Classroom Management

Effective classroom management is key to a successful science classroom. For some very excellent tips on how to effectively manage your science classroom, click here.

Kindergarten Through Grade Eight State Adopted Science Curriculum Materials

For a current listing of K-8 Science State Adopted Curriculum Materials visit the California Department of Education at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/im/scisubpro.asp.

If your not sure which materials are appropriate and you need assistance, please click here.

New Teacher Support Programs

Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment Program (BTSA)

Teachers with a Preliminary Teaching Credential are served during their
first two years in the profession through the Beginning Teacher Support
and Assessment Program (BTSA), which provides formative assessment
and individualized support. BTSA is co-sponsored by the California
Department of Education and the CCTC. For further information, please click here.

The New Teacher Center

The New Teacher Center's mission is to improve student learning by supporting the development of an inspired, dedicated and highly qualified teaching force. For further information, please click here.

Pre-Service Teachers: Professional Opportunity

The California Science Teachers Association is offering a strand of sessions designed for Pre-Service Teachers at the California Science Education Conference, October 25-28, 2007.  Developed with the help of the Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE), the program will offer workshops, a focus speaker, and roundtable discussion as well as a post-conference mentorship element.

Sessions topics include: Explicit Strategies for Achieving California’s Science Standards: Tips for New Teachers; Classroom Management Strategies for elementary, middle and high school levels; Incorporating the Nature of Science into Instruction; Enhancing Classroom Assessments for Learning; Standards-Based Lesson Design; Anchoring California Science Content and Processes Through Discrepant Events; Science for EL Students; Science for Special Needs Students; Science Safety, plus job interviewing techniques, credentialing information and more. 

Pre-service teachers who submit an application will be offered the opportunity to receive a stipend for attending the conference and completing the program requirements.  Information packets are being sent to university science methods instructors, and details of the program can be found on the CSTA website at www.cascience.org/preservice.html.

Presented through the generous support of the Karen and Christopher Payne Family Foundation.

State and National Standards, Frameworks, and Benchmarks

The California Science Content Standards (link: http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/scmain.asp) describe what California students are expected to know and be able to do for each grade level.The state’s testing program is built upon, and science teachers in California are expected to teach, these standards.

The Science Framework for California Public Schools (link: http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/pn/fd/sci-frame-dwnld.asp) offers guidance to teachers on how to teach the standards.

At the national level, the National Research Council has also developed National Science Education Standards (link: http://books.nap.edu/readingroom/books/nses/, and these have been adopted by many states.

Additionally, the American Association for the Advancement of Science developed Benchmarks for Science Literacy (link: http://www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/bolintro.htm), which are statements of what all students should know or be able to do in science, mathematics, and technology by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12.

Teachers planning to teach in California should note that, while the National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy are esteemed and valuable resources, California does not follow the national standards.

"Top" Science Teaching Resources

 

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MERLOT Mathematics

The MERLOT Mathematics Community’s site includes tips for teaching math with online resources, finding peer reviewed and user comments on MERLOT math resources, and an invitation to participate in its online community.

MERLOT Teacher Ed

he MERLOT Teacher Ed Community’s site includes tips for teaching teacher education with online resources, finding peer reviewed and user comments on MERLOT teacher ed resources, and an invitation to participate in its online community.

Virtual Courseware Project

Under the direction of Dr. Bob Desharnais, the Virtual Courseware Project at UCLA has developed an exciting array of outstanding courseware to support teachers investigating topics in earth/space mathematics.

By clicking here you will find some of the Virtual Courseware Project’s selection of courseware offerings. These materials will definitely liven up your classroom.

English Language Learner Resources

If you are teaching students who are less than proficient in using English or for whom English may be a second language, MERLOT has catalogued a number of lessons (assignments) for ELL students in mathematics. Mr. Troy Tenhet with the Panama-Buena Vista School District has contributed some excellent resources to MERLOT. Visit Troy’s contribution page by clicking here.

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