Two-year colleges enroll about 45% of all U.S. undergraduates.
More than 40% of K-12 teachers completed some of their
mathematics work at a 2-year college. Many future elementary and
middle school teachers take most, if not all, of their college
level mathematics courses at 2-year colleges [1]. In light of
these statistics, 2-year faculty look with great interest at the
recent initiative of the State of Michigan to identify standards
for teacher preparation programs at 4-year colleges and
universities [2]. Several questions arise:
- What are the implications of the recent state standards on the 2-year colleges, which play a major role in preparing our state’s teachers?
- Will the state create standards for preparing teachers in the first two years of college as a roadmap for the community colleges?
- How will the state accredit, approve or endorse a teacher preparation program at 4-year College X if a large proportion of the students in their program have taken several courses at several different 2-year colleges?
- If several 4-year colleges and universities have different course requirements, how do the 2-year colleges accommodate students who will be transferring into these different programs?
- Will a new round of articulation agreements be initiated to support changes to the teacher preparation programs at 2- and 4-year colleges?
Let’s consider one of the state standards and the implications it might have on existing teacher preparation programs.
Prospective elementary grade teachers should be required to take at least 9 semester-hours on fundamental ideas of elementary school mathematics [2].
Current practice varies significantly on the number of required semester hours in elementary mathematics teacher preparation programs. Very few colleges currently require 9 credit hours. Some require 8 hours (2 4-credit courses), some require 6 hours (2 3-credit courses), and many require a single 4-credit Math for Elementary Teachers course. Many 2-year colleges establish their mathematics requirements to parallel the requirements at their principal 4-year transfer institutions. The mathematics requirements in the 4-year colleges are the result of the collaboration of education departments and several discipline departments over several years. Making a change, such as adding 5 additional credit hours to an already bursting-at-the-seams program is not easy to accomplish. While most mathematics educators generally support the state standards, making changes to existing programs on this standard and others will not be easy.
There are several sources of support to help us improve our teacher preparation programs. The CBMS [3] and the NRC [4] have published sets of recommendations aimed at improving teacher preparation programs. AMATYC [5] has received an NSF grant to improve the preparation of teachers at the 2-year college level. As part of that grant a week-long institute will be held this summer (July 7–12, 2002) at Grand Rapids Community College. The leaders of MCTM, the Michigan Section, and the MDE held a one-day conference in October, 2001 to promote awareness of the state standards and to promote communication between 2- and 4-year colleges and universities. Similar sessions are planned for the future. And finally, the May 10–11, 2002 Michigan Section/MichMATYC conference will have sessions on improving teacher education programs.
I welcome the mandate from the state to improve our teacher preparation programs. To insure the successful implementation of their mandate the state must recognize the fundamental role of the 2-year colleges in preparing our future mathematics teachers.
For more details on the projects described above, visit the following websites:
- The National Science Foundation grant, Investing in Tomorrow’s Teachers (www.nsf.gov/pubs/1999/nsf9949/nsf9949.htm)
- The Michigan Department of Education standards for mathematics teacher education programs. (www.mde.state.mi.us)
- The Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, The Mathematical Education of Teachers. (www.maa.org/cbms)
- The National Research Council, Educating Teachers of Science, mathematics, and Technology: New Practices for a New Millennium. (www.nap.edu/books/0309070333/html)
- AMATYC’s NSF grant (amatyc.dtcc.edu)
Jim Ham, Two-Year College Vice Chair