California LUCIMATH
(Local School Districts, UCLA, CA County Offices of Education, Institutes
in MATHematics) is a program designed to provide professional development
for teachers of mathematics. Under the direction of Dr. Shelley Kriegler
from the Department of Mathematics and Dr. Jody Priselac from the
Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, mathematicians
and mathematics educators are working together to create a program
that 1) strengthens and deepens teachers' understandings of the mathematics
that they teach, 2) enhances and expands the instructional strategies
they use, 3) familiarizes them with their newly adopted textbooks
and 4) is in alignment with the California Mathematics Content Standards.
The program design and content are based on what we have learned
from 20 years of working with teachers, on what we understand about
student learning, and on the mathematics content necessary for teachers
to know within the context of the mathematics they teach.
LUCIMATH
began as a California Mathematics Professional Development Institute
(MPDI) funded through the University of California Office
of the President (UCOP). With leadership provided by Elizabeth Stage,
UCOP Director of Mathematics and Science Professional Development,
the UCLA Department of Mathematics, the UCLA Mathematics Project
in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, and
mathematics
professionals from around California collaborated to develop this
program which originally began as a program for primary teachers
and has since
grown to include curriculum for elementary, middle and high school
mathematics.
Dr. Shelley Kriegler coordinates the LUCI Writing
Team, which was formed to develop the curriculum and design the institutes.
With
support from
Dr. Ted Gamelin in the Department of Mathematics and Dr. Megan
Franke
and Dr. Jody Priselac from UCLA Graduate School of Education and
Information Studies, the team has developed six programs serving
K-8 teachers,
and is currently working on a program for high school teachers.
Each program is a collection of cohesive modules based on important
mathematics
and educational principles. Each module goes through an extensive
process of brainstorming, writing, editing, piloting, and rewriting
to be sure
that it meets the needs of the instructors and participants of
interest while following the guidelines for Mathematics Professional
Development
Institutes.
The LUCI Implementation Team is coordinated through
the UCLA Mathematics Project under the leadership of Cynthia Raff.
Using an apprentice
model for instructor training, and a team approach to implementation,
over
12,000 teachers have participated in LUCIMATH institutes since
2001. |