Rocky Mountain Math Teachers' Circle

With the advent of the Common Core, many teachers are being asked to teach mathematics in ways that differ significantly from how they learned it.  We provide an opportunity for teachers to experience mathematical problem solving as learners.  

Teachers will develop their own facility by using the Standards of Mathematical Practice from the Common Core while working on engaging mathematical activities.  Problems will be selected from many areas of mathematics – geometry, number and operation, algebra, and probability and statistics.  We also have ongoing discussions related to implementing problem-solving and the Standards of Mathematical Practice in the classroom.

Rocky Mountain Math Teachers' Circle (RMMTC) holds monthly sessions at the University of Colorado Denver campus for middle-level teachers and mathematicians to work together to develop capacity with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice. These monthly sessions provide professional development and a learning community for teachers in which they engage as learners in the process of doing mathematics with guidance from university mathematicians and have support and training to implement rich mathematical tasks in their classroom.  

The RMMTC provides professional development and a learning community for teachers in which they (a) engage as learners in the process of doing mathematics with guidance from university mathematicians, and (b) have support and training to implement rich mathematical tasks in their classroom.

Specifically, goals for teachers through the MTC include strengthening mathematics problem-solving skills, engaging teachers in the process of doing mathematics (experimenting, conjecturing, exploring, communicating), and equipping teachers to initiate student-centered, inquiry-based mathematical instructional practices in classrooms. 

Of the teachers that participate, over 75% of them are from high needs districts and 80% are women. The average participant has been teaching over 8 years and has a bachelor's degree and is certified in the state of Colorado to teach either elementary or secondary mathematics.