Teachers work together at a monthly meeting
December, 1991
![[CPMP]](cpmphead.gif)
Since 1990, the College Preparatory Mathematics Program (CPMP) has assisted teachers in forming a network committed to learning how to instruct largely underserved student populations in college preparatory mathematics, from pre-algebra through calculus, through cooperative learning and non-traditional curricular materials. From 1990 to 1996, CPMP has involved around 100 mathematics teachers of grades 5-12 and over 2,000 students from 16 Chicago-area public schools with large minority student populations.
As NSF support draws to a close, CPMP no longer exists in the form described below. The metamorphosis has produced teachers organized for change in Chicago and Southeastern Wisconsin, greater connections between UIC/DePaul and the Chicago Public Schools, and many effects on the teaching of mathematics at UIC. The most direct successor is the Center for Secondary School Mathematics Reform which is cosponsored by the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science and the Institute for Mathematics and Science Education. The major project at the moment is the implementation of IMP in 9 Chicago High Schools. Anne Horn and Margaret Small coordinate this implementation and their offices are located in 225 SEO here on the UIC campus.
The central person in CPMP has been Roberta Dees. As Roberta sails forth to Florida, all the other participants in CPMP want to thank her. We've learned a lot.
As a freeze-frame of one way to energize mathematics reform we leave below a description of CPMP - circa Fall 1995. Further information may also be obtained in CPMP's final report to the NSF - available in either html or post script.
Each spring for the last six years, participants have worked with university mathematics faculty from The University of Illinois at Chicago to prepare curriculum materials for a summer session of classes and subsequent academic-year courses. (For the last three years, CPMP sites have also been operated by DePaul University and The University of Wisconsin - Parkside.)
The summer Institutes serve as a laboratory for teachers (in teams of two) to experiment with cooperative learning and innovative curricula such as the Interactive Mathematics Program , as well as materials designed by educators from the University of Illinois, including Maneuvers with Mathematics and Teaching Integrated Mathematics and Science.
During the academic year, participants in the program teach classes using the skills practiced over the summer with the emphasis placed on problem-solving and cooperative learning, as opposed to traditional skill drills. Early participants in the program taught a double-period class and this has been continued where possible.
In addition, they have attended in-service sessions and monthly planning meetings at the partner universities throughout the academic year to share new teaching practices and the successes or difficulties they have found in their classrooms.
The in-service materials include the NCTM Curriculum and Evaluation Standards and activities that will help teacher participants experience the ideas and apply them in their own teaching.
The in-services serve as a model for the kind of behavior desired in classrooms. The support network the teachers provide for each other is very much like the peer support group they encourage among the students in their classrooms. Such a classroom climate enables students to work hard together and learn challenging mathematics.
An evaluation of the program has revealed that CPMP teachers have positive attitudes towards the program and cooperative learning. Several of the participants are often asked by their own schools, or by such organizations as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the Illinois Council of Teacher of Mathematics, and the International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education, to make presentations or conduct workshops on cooperative learning.
An evaluation of student outcomes has found that attendance and participation has increased, with many participants reporting that their students' attitudes towards mathematics are more positive than before the program's inception. Results from standardized tests indicate that participating students have performed significantly better than comparison groups. They also have completed more mathematics courses than similar groups at their schools.
During the past three years, CPMP teachers at selected schools have been implementing a new four-year integrated mathematics curriculum being developed by the Interactive Mathematics Program . It has been enthusiastically accepted by teachers, students, and parents.
CPMP works under the umbrella of the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Math and Science Education (IMSE). Information regarding the IMSE can be obtained by contacting Marty Gartzman at (312) 413-2971 or by sending him a message at gartzman@uic.edu.
For more information contact John Baldwin (jbaldwin@uic.edu).
See also:
Revised 10/31/96