Bringing Mathematics into our World
M 2 ED responds to the need for qualified mathematics teachers by creating a support system for “non-content” certified elementary and secondary school mathematics teachers, providing them with the professional relationships and the content and pedagogy enrichment to surmount the challenges associated with years of teaching. M 2 ED’s approach is rooted in a growing interest of finding mathematic resources that are not only researched-based but that highly motivate students to learn mathematics. The project attempts to address teachers’ frustration at trying to find activities that adequately cover a mathematics curriculum with proper grade-level scope and complexity, compounded by pressures resulting from teacher shortages and State and Federal accountability measures. Teachers’ frustrations with trying to help students undergo a natural transition from concrete to abstract mathematical understanding and with making sense of on what to focus in a very complex set of curriculum objectives, coupled with the evidence of the effectiveness of integrated mathematical content with mathematical processes (as delineated by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), have challenged us to move towards forming a clearinghouse that will give teachers real-time access to the tools they need.