What we do
At MEC, we provide sustained professional learning that builds learner-focused content knowledge. We equip teachers to use instructional materials as resources for responsive instruction. Workshop participants come to understand mathematics deeply enough to recognize the possibilities within a task, anticipate different ways students might reason, and make instructional decisions that advance students’ mathematical acheivement.
Most teachers begin their careers with their own experiences as mathematics learners. Often, those experiences were successful, and they naturally become a touchstone for how teachers understand what learning mathematics looks like and how mathematics should be taught.
Challenge arise when students’ dispositions, strengths, experiences, and backgrounds differ from those of their teachers. Even when teachers have a deep knowledge of mathematics, they need flexible learning-focused content knowledge to recognize where students are mathematically, anticipate how they might make sense of an idea, and adapt instruction to support their growth.
We bring mathematics to life, so that teachers can do the same for their students.
“The most important idea I take away from MEC is that students can become mathematical thinkers and understand math concepts better when they learn in an environment that allows them to explore and think for themselves.”
-Patricia Petreno, Onalaska Elementary & Middle School