A study that found that math-anxious female teachers pass on their fears to young girls underscores the need for more teacher training programs like Intel Math and, even better, the hiring of math specialists in early grades.

The Los Angeles Times reported on the study, which was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Two University of Chicago psychologists interviewed  seven female first and second grade teachers who displayed a discomfort and expressed a lack of confidence in their math abilities. Their students were tested at the start and end of the school year.

By spring, girls in those classes ended up believing the myth  that boys are naturally better than girls in math, and their test scores had fallen relative to the boys in their class. Girl students in classes with self-confident female teachers – and most teachers in those grades are women – showed no gap in test scores with boys. (Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on January 26th, 2010

Comments on Like germs, math phobia spreads in 1st grade

In Silicon Valley, where some of the world’s smartest people live, many of the best young minds are wasting. The dichotomy is as stark as the Route 101 divide – a geographical shorthand for class and race (east, poor; west, rich) – separating them.

• A youth unemployment rate that one workforce nonprofit executive estimates at 35 percent;
• A high school dropout rate of about 27 percent;
• A minuscule number of Hispanic students in a six-county area – 182  out of 13,700 – to pass the CSU Early Assessment Program in math.

For seven hours last week, more than 100 school, business and non-profit leaders in the valley heard leaders’ pleas to reach out to disengaged youths, and discussed how to do so at a conference co-sponsored by Cisco Systems, the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, James Irvine Foundation and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. (Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on January 26th, 2010

Comments on Silicon Valley’s great divide

California has, by far, the largest percentage of eighth graders taking algebra. But that’s about all it can crow about in Education Week’s first Math Progress Index, which was published last week.

By most measures – scores on the “nation’s report card” (National Assessment of Educational Progress), improvement on those scores over the last six years,  closing the achievement gap in math, and hiring experienced math teachers – California is far behind the most successful states, and often behind the national average. (Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on January 20th, 2010

Comments on State lags in new math index

Intel Corp. is going nationwide with an intensive math course for teachers that the company has successfully piloted in the Bay Area and New England.

Expanding Intel Math is piece of a $200 million, 10-year commitment in science, technology, engineering and math education, known as STEM, that Intel announced with President Obama at the White House last week. Continuing Intel science competitions and the International Science and Engineering Fair (this year in San Jose in May) is a bigger piece.

(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on January 13th, 2010

Comments on Intel expands math course for teachers

By John Fensterwald on December 24th, 2009

Comments on Stephanie Couch on STEM Education in California

I needed an animated ad to promote my new blog on Rough & Tumble, the California news site, and I had no luck finding someone through my  old newspaper contacts. After a week of searching, I ended up where I probably should have started– with two enterprising high school students.

In the process, I received not only an ad but also an education. I got to tour their school, Freestyle Academy of Communication Arts & Technology, which provides the type of high-tech, hands-on, project-based learning that Silicon Valley – and any valley in California – needs more of. (Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on December 9th, 2009

Comments on Art and ingenuity in the shadow of Google

A majority of parents at a low-performing school could force a district trustees to turn it over to a charter school operator or take other dramatic actions, under an amendment that Sen. Gloria Romero has added to her Race to the Top legislation.

The Assembly Education Committee will take up a competing bill, ABX5-8, sponsored by Chairwoman Julia Brownley, and possibly Romero’s SBX5-1, tomorrow. Assembly leaders haven’t indicated  whether they’ll seriously consider Romero’s bill.

(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on December 7th, 2009

Comments on Race to Top bill would give parents more power