Now is the time to conquer your math anxiety
Do you wish you were more comfortable teaching math to students in grades K-3?
Do you feel like you have anxiety about math?
Have you heard of Primarily Math at UNL and been wishing the program would be open to you and your school?
Now is the time to conquer your math anxiety and show students in grades K-3 the beauty of mathematics – and find a new love of math for yourself. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is pleased to announce that it’s bringing the Primarily Math program to Holdrege this summer: http://scimath.unl.edu/primarilymath/gne/.
Thanks to an Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) grant from the U.S. Department of Education awarded through the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education and an award from Women Investing in Nebraska (WIN), a new cohort of Primarily Math for Greater Nebraska begins May 31, 2016, in Holdrege, Nebraska.
Primarily Math is for outstanding Nebraska elementary teachers (grades K-3) who accept the challenge to return to graduate school to study mathematics and the teaching of mathematics. The program has been proven to be effective in strengthening teachers’ mathematical and pedagogical knowledge, and in increasing students’ mathematical achievement. Teachers earn a K-3 Mathematics Specialist Certificate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln upon completion of the 18-hour graduate program. To date, 363 teachers from across Nebraska have completed Primarily Math. Applications (first round) are due March 15, 2016.
“Primarily Math has given me new instructional strategies and a deeper understanding of content knowledge. This program has given me the opportunity to experience why it is important to give students a strong foundation and multiple strategies to work with and solve math problems. Math was once a subject that I disliked in school and is now a subject I love to teach, thanks to Primarily Math,” said Amber Woitaszewski of Grand Island.
**Classes**
Teachers selected for the “Primarily Math: Greater Nebraska” program will begin by taking two graduate courses in Summer 2016. Math 800P will be offered May 31-June 3, and Math 801P will be June 6-10, both at ESU 11. The Primarily Math graduate program consists of a total of six courses: two weeklong courses at ESU 11 in summer 2016 focused on mathematics content; two courses during the subsequent academic year (one per semester) focused on mathematics pedagogy, each consisting of two in-person meetings and additional activities connected to teachers’ classrooms facilitated online; and two weeklong courses at ESU 11 in summer 2017, one focused on mathematics content, the other on pedagogy. Each course is worth 3 graduate credits at UNL and counts toward a master’s degree.
**Funding and Support**
“Primarily Math: Greater Nebraska” will provide funding support for one cohort of up to 30 teachers (20 from high-need districts or schools and 10 from other Nebraska districts or schools). Funds from this proposal and other grants will fully cover all tuition and fees for the first course in the Primarily Math program (Math 800P, May 31-June 3), and lower the cost of the remaining five courses from as much as $1,100 in tuition and fees per course to an average of $343 per course for the 20 teachers from high-need schools and to approximately $530 per course for the 10 teachers from other Nebraska schools. For the remaining balance teachers should discuss possibilities for additional tuition support with school or district administrators.
**Application**
Read through the application requirements for the K-3 Math Specialist Certificate on the UNL TLTE website: http://cehs.unl.edu/tlte/programs/graduate-certificates-tlte/. You will need to write an essay and gather two letters of recommendation. You do not have to pay the $50 application fee as a current Nebraska teacher. Once admitted, you will be sent a link to the GAMES system to upload your Primarily Math application materials. Applications are due in GAMES by March 15, 2016 (first round deadline).
Please feel free to call or email Lindsay Augustyn at laugustyn2@unl.edu, 402-472-8979, with any questions.
http://scimath.unl.edu/primarilymath/gne/