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What's New at RUSMP

RUSMP had several representatives who were speakers at the Conference for the Advancement of Mathematics Teaching in Dallas, Texas on July 9-11, 2008. Presentations from RUSMP included the following:
Is There Life after Linear Functions? (Anne Papakonstantinou and Richard Parr),
Exploring Conics with Graphing Technology (Richard Parr),
3-D Visualization: Why? When? How? (Irma Vazquez and Jackie Sack),
Crossing the River with Cows (Ronee Finch),
A Potpourri of Problems from the Press (Anne Papakonstantinou and Richard Parr),
Whatever IT Takes; How Professional Communities Respond When Kids Don’t Learn (Bobby Beatty),
Translate Your Face (Ronee Finch), and
Using TAKS Stems to Develop Differentiated Problem Sets (Jackie Sack and Richard Parr).
Teachers at the 2008 Summer Campus Program

The 22nd Annual Summer Campus Program concluded on July 2, 2008. Over 100 teachers spent four weeks strengthening their mathematical and pedagogical skills, making new connections, and having a lot of fun. Thanks to the wonderful people at Pin Oak Middle School for hosting the program. See the pictures from this year's Summer Campus Program, as well as this year's schedule of colloquia. The 23rd Annual Summer Campus Program will be held from June 8 through July 2, 2009.
RUSMP's Robin Ward was featured in the Spring Edition of Rice at Large, for her work with Project GEM (Girls Excelling in Math). Project GEM is a 10-week program designed for girls that integrates mathematics, reading and art. The project is a response to research indicating that females lose interest in mathematics or are discouraged from pursuing mathematics careers. Rice at Large is a publication of the Office of Public Affairs and the Office of the Associate Provost of Rice University.
Sherry Senior

The May 2008 Issue of the Bellaire Buzz has a very sweet and deserved memorial to RUSMP Master Teacher Sherry Senior, who passed away on March 13.
Congratulations to Sartartia Middle School's Anna Davila, who won an HEB Excellence in Education award. HEB's Excellence in Education Awards were created to celebrate and recognize the contributions of public school professionals whose leadership and dedication inspire a love of learning in students of all backgrounds and abilities. Anna joined the RUSMP family when she attended the Summer Campus Program last June. See the video from Channel 2 of Anna's award.
More than 150 first graders from Shadow Oaks Elementary School enjoyed a field day at the Rice campus, engage in activities led by university professors in science, writing, art, and mathematics. RUSMP's Robin Ward and Anne Papakonstantinou led one group of students, who explored how the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian used vertical and horizontal black lines to create his abstract art. See the picture and article in the Houston Chronicle's Commons.
Robin Ward was again featured in the Village News for her work at West University Elementary School. Robin used a Monte Carlo method of data collection with a kindergarten class to predict the earth's water-to-land ratio.
Dr. Papa shows Westside students some of the finer
mathematics to be found on the Rice campus.

Calculus students from Cedric French's class at Westside High School decided to spend part of their Spring Break touring the Rice campus. They were taken on a mathematical tour of the campus by RUSMP Director Anne Papakonstantinou. Read about the tour in the Rice News.
Robin Ward was featured in the Village News for her lessons about the moon at West University Elementary School.
Congratulations to RUSMP's Dr. Jackie Sack, for having her manuscript "Commonplace Intersections within a High School Mathematics Leadership Institute" published in the latest Journal of Teacher Education. The Journal of Teacher Education is one of the most widely read respected professional journals in the field of teacher education.
RUSMP offered two short courses for the Spring of 2008: 3-D Visualization (K–8) and Developing the Measurement Strand: A Course for K-5 Teachers. The courses met over four Monday evenings at the Rice School, beginning on February 25 and ending on March 31.
This year's Spring Networking Conference was held in Duncan Hall on the Rice University Campus on Saturday, February 2. We had a great turnout, and we got to hear from two excellent speakers: Dr. Robin A. Ward, Associate Director for Curriculum Integration at RUSMP, and Dr. Nita Copley, Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Houston's College of Education.
Anne Papakonstaninou, Jackie Sack, Ngozi Kamau, John Polking and Carlos Barron represented RUSMP and MLI at the National Science Foundation MSP Learning Network Conference in Washington, DC on January 28 and 29, 2008. See Jackie's and Ngozi's presentation, titled The Impact of the Lead Teacher Professional Learning Community.
Congratulations to RUSMP's own Dr. Robin A. Ward, for the publication of her three-book series, Literature-Based Activities Integrating Mathematics with Other Content Areas, designed for teachers of grades K-2, grades 3-5, and grades 6-8.
The Rice University Mathematics Leadership Institute (MLI) was featured in the Fall 2007 edition of Rice at Large. Thanks to MLI, the number of teachers with Texas Master Mathematics Teacher (8-12) Certification has increased by more than 50%. Rice at Large is a publication of the Office of Minority Community Affairs and the Office of the Associate Provost of Rice University.
MLI's effect on the number of Master Mathematics teachers in Texas was also recognized by The Greentree Gazette, a bimonthly business magazine for higher education. The article, "Boosting Student Achievement in Math and Science," also notes that students of MLI teachers performed on a higher level on state and national standardized tests than students of other teachers. The article goes on to point out that this academic improvement is reflected across the board, with increases in both the number of students passing and the number of students achieving commended status.

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