1. Fundi - passing knowledge through direct contact with fundis (skilled instructors)

2. History Dr. Robert Moses an innovative math educator who developed the Algebra Project to improve underrepresented student’s math skills.  Daughter – Maisha  Helps in classroom

3. Why mathematics  Math is the tool needed to give hope to the next generation.  Citizenship requires literacy in math/science  New technologies  Computers

4. Algebra Project An organizing project Created using the methods of the civil rights movement Radical - For students underrepresented/poor, the usually excluded. Will help close the gap between universal education and universal completion of a college sequence in high school

5. Civil rights meets Math rights Organizer becomes part of the community, learning from it, being aware of the strengths, resources, concerns, and ways of doing business Understanding change Culture change in Mississippi

6. Pedagogy-Experiential learning Starts where students are and experiences they share Students reflect from their culture, form abstract conceptualizations out of the reflection and apply the abstraction on their experience

7. Pedagogy-Experiential learning Five steps in the Algebra Project curriculum process

8. Pedagogy-Experiential learning 1. Physical events – the curriculum begins with a trip and is the central experience

9. Pedagogy-Experiential learning 2. Pictorial Representation/Modeling

10. Pedagogy-Experiential learning 3. Intuitive Language/People Talk - discuss the physical event in their own language

11. Pedagogy-Experiential learning 4. Structured language/Feature Talk – Structured language that selects features of the event that are important for further study. *Note - Students will develop mathematical models for the events

12. Pedagogy-Experiential learning 5. Symbolic Representation – students construct symbols to represent their ideas in teams and then in class

13. Teachers Goal - Teachers will make change in the way they teach Attend workshop (based on corporate education methods) geared on the five step process Freedom to learn

14. 1995-96 1998-99 2001-02 (pre-Algebra Proj.) (Year 3 of Algebra Proj.) (Year 6 of Algebra Proj.) Lanier HSLanier HS other HS Lanier HS other HS GRADE 9 COURSES Above Algebra I 1% 39% 26% 22%18% Algebra I or equiv. 12% 38% 41% 67%45% Below Algebra I 87% 22% 29% 11% 37% GRADE 10 COURSES Above Geometry 16% 33%29% 24%23% Geometry or equiv. 16% 40%39% 58%39% Below Geometry 68% 27%32% 18%38% Ex: Algebra Project School Implementation at Lanier High School, Jackson, MS: Enrollment in College Preparatory Mathematics Courses in Grades 9 and 10

15. Current Projects Young People’s Project – a youth initiative to develop college and high school math literacy workers who will lead after school sessions for younger students invited from community- based organizations

16. Locations New Orleans, LA Halifax County, NC Jackson, MS Petersburg, VA Summerton, SC Miami, FL Cambridge, MA – originated

18. “The world that our students will become a part of will demand much of them. All students should have the opportunity to face those demands fully prepared. High expectations, translated into pedagogy that empowers students to reach those expectations, are imperative.” Idorenyin Jamar & Vanessa R. Pitts

19. Workforce Requirement Changes Moses (2001) noted: Central key to success is economic access Technological shift Cotton gin changed the demand for a workforce (machine - $5.26 labor - $39.41) Automation changed the auto industry demand for workforce New technology emerges – fiber optics, computers and electronics, polymers, research and development, and information technology.

20. What does this change imply? Need for the “knowledge worker” Technical skills Interpersonal skills High-tech workers earned more than 82% more than workers in other industries

21. Then and Now In 1950 – 60% of jobs were unskilled In 2005, 14% of jobs unskilled 86% require higher levels of training beyond high school diploma In 2010, more than 2/3 of new jobs will require education beyond high school

23. Classified Ads: 60% of new jobs will require skills in which only 22% of the young entering job market have Require use of computer and pay 15% more than jobs which do not 70% of jobs require technology literacy BY 2010 ALL JOBS WILL REQUIRE TECHNICAL SKILLS (80% of these jobs still DO NOT exist) NEED MORE QUALIFIED WORKERS-In 2002, 1.3 million high-tech jobs go unfilled

24. Education Reform National Science Foundation Chairman, James J. Duderstadt, “The most important factor affecting the long-term production of scientists is the tragic inadequacy of our primary and secondary science and mathematics education program.”

26. Society, Minorities, and Mathematics Illiteracy in mathematics is acceptable 40% of students taking freshman Calculus fail African American make up 15% of population 1995 1.8% earned Ph.D. in computer science, 2.1% engineering, 1.5% physical science, and 0.6% in mathematics 17% of all U.S. scientists and engineers consist of minorities Close to 90% of minority students take remedial mathematics – University of Kentucky MATH LITERACY and ECONOMIC access give hope to the young generation

27. Setting up Failure? Of 74% of minority girls who want to take advanced math courses only 45% of their schools offer it. Student completing bachelors degree with intense high school curriculum 82% - least intense curriculum 9% 82% of high school students plan to go to college Low-income and minority students have high college remediation rates and low completion rates. Student noted, “They showed be how to fill our a McDonald’s application in my Life Skills class. I think that they should have at least taught me how to fill out a college application or told me what the college requirements are.”

29. ALGEBRA??? Algebra Project encourages the objective to provide math literacy to students Computer age – “hidden culture of computers is math” Algebra – learn how to manipulate symbols and problem solve, critical thinking Younger generation needs algebra to – function in society, prosper economically, function in society, participate effectively in the workforce, and control of life-altering decisions

30. What needs to be done? Algebra Project Encouragement and exposure to role models Career Opportunities Teaching students to think not just memorize Parent involvement / home life Self – Efficacy 74% of minorities felt they needed more career counseling Less discrimination in math / sciences Programs such as “Career Linking” – “implemented by teachers, counselors, and university faculty, and also was designed to increase students’ self-esteem through counseling, parent participation, and ‘real-world’ experiences.” Early intervention New methods of teaching – inquiry-based, discussions, problem- solving, group projects, student-centered learning, less memorization, “discover and re-invent concepts,” HIGH EXPECTATIONS

31. “Organizing around algebra has the potential to open a doorway that’s been locked. Math literacy and economic access are the Algebra Project’s foci for giving hope to the young generation…Instead of weeding all but the best students out of advance math, schools must commit to everyone gaining this literacy as they have committed to everyone having a reading-writing literacy.” Robert P. Moses

32. 45 states require students to take certain courses to graduate from high school

33. 26 states require Algebra I

34. 19 states require Geometry

35. Only 13 states require Algebra II

36. References Aikenhead, G.S. (2006). Science education for everyday Life: Evidence-based practice. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Aikehead, G.S. (1996). Science education: Border crossing into the subculture of science. Studies in Science Education, 27. 1-51. Brown, B.A. (2006). “It Isn’t No Slang That Can Be Said About This Stuff”: Language, Identity, and Appropriating Science Discourse. Journal of Research In Science Teaching, 43(1), 96-126. Fouad, Nadya. A. (1995). Career linking: An intervention to promote math and science career awareness. Journal of Counseling & Development, May/June, 73, 527-534. Hrabowski, Freeman A. (2003). Raising minority achievement in science and math. Educational Leadership, Dec./Jan., 44-48. Jamar, Idorenyin & Pitts, V.R. (2005). High expectations: A “how” of achieving equitable mathematics classrooms. The Negro Educational Review. 56 (2 & 3), 127-134. Jehlen, Alain. (2003). How to advance minority students. National Education Association. 26-27. Lee, O., and Luykx, A. (2006). Science education and student diversity: Race/ethnicity, language, culture, and socioeconomic status. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press Lubienski, Sarah T. (2007). What we can do about achievement disparities. Educational Leadership, Nov., 54-59. Moses, R.P. and Cobb, C. E. (2001) Radical equations: Math literacy and civil rights. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Moses, R.P., Kamii, M. Swap, S.M., and Howard, J. (1989). The Algebra Project: Organizing in the spirit of Ella. Harvard Educational Review, 59(4), 423-443. Norman, O. Ault, C., Jr., Bentz, B., & Meskimen, L. (2001). The black- white "achievement gap” as a perennial challenge of urban science education: A sociocultural and historical overview with implications for research and practice. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38, 1101-114 Perry, T. and Delpit, L. (1998). The real ebonics debate: Power language, and the education of African-American children. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Tobin, K. Elmesky, R. and Seiler, G. (2005). Improving urban science education. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. West, M.M. and Davis, F.E. (2005). Research related to the Algebra Project’s intervention to improve student learning in mathematics. Evaluation report. Cambridge, MA: Program Evaluation & Research Group, Lesley University. http://www.achieve.org/node/306 http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b25-0000

38. Department of Labor Statistics American Electronics Association (AEA) defines high-tech workers as those versed in computers, photonics, software services, data processing and defense electronics High Tech workers earned 82 % more than other fields 60 % of new jobs will require skills possessed by only 22 % of young people entering the job market

39. Department of Labor Statistics 70 % of all jobs require technology By the year 2010 all jobs will require technical skills 80 % of all new jobs do not exist yet In the year 2006 – 1.3 million high tech jobs were not filled

40. Unemployment and wage estimates in the U.S. in 2008 The # of unemployed persons = 7.6 million The unemployment rate = 5.0 % in April Job losses totaled 240,000 in the first quarter of this year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

41. Where are the jobs? Go to the following website for job categories; Total employment =146.3 million The employment population ratio is 62.7 %

42. Employment and wage estimates in the U.S. from April 2008 Part- time work increased by 306,000 to 5.2 million (This level was 849,000 higher than in April 2007) Construction declined by 61,000 jobs (Since its peak in September 2006, construction employment has fallen by 457,000) Manufacturing employment fell by 46,000 jobs in durable goods manufacturing Employment in retail trade continued to trend down, with a decrease of 27,000 jobs

43. Where are the jobs? Employment and wage estimates in the U.S. in April 2008 Health care = 37,000 jobs Ambulatory health care services = 22,000 jobs Hospitals = 9,000 jobs Professional and technical services = 27,000 jobs Computer systems design = 10,000 jobs Accounting /bookkeeping services = 9,000 jobs Employment in temporary help services continued to trend down.

44. Where are the jobs? Employment and wage estimates in the U.S. Food services 18,000 jobs Colleges, Universities, and Professionals 180,670 jobs pay ranging from $74,590 Junior Colleges 81,750 jobs pay ranging from $67,840 Science research and development 2,390 jobs pay ranging from $76,280 Other schools and instruction 1,220 jobs pay ranging from $44,730 Business school and computer training 1,190 jobs pay ranging from $56,580

45. Prisons are the fastest growing public sector Prisons grow enough each year to fill New York’s Yankee stadium A young man born this year has 1 out of 20 chance of living some part of his life in jail If he is black his chances jump up to 1 out of 4 The crime rate in teens is going up 1% each year (oas.samhsa.gov) Washington D.C., attorneys Joseph B. Tulman and Mary G. Hynes write, “in overwhelming percentages, they are poor children and they are children of color. Large percentages of children in the delinquency system and adults in the criminal system are severely undereducated, and literacy skills in these populations are strikingly low.” (p. 12 Radical Equations)

46. Issues and Trends in Science and Math Education The demand for high tech skills is expected to double These trends shed light on an old problem – the inadequacy of our primary and secondary math and science education N.S.F chairman James J. Duderstadt, “The most important factor affecting the long-term production of scientists is the tragic inadequacy of our primary and secondary science and math education program.” (p. 9 Radical Equations) Forty percent of students taking freshman calculus in U.S. universities fail

47. Math and Science literacy as a tool for liberation Are we going to have a society where only a small group of people are prepared for the future, where there is a huge knowledge gap? How does such a society stabilize itself?

48. Who does the Algebra project target? The key word here is you