NSF Awards TERC $2.68M for Online Learning Network, MSPnet

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded TERC, a not-for-profit educational research organization in Cambridge, MA, a five year, $2.68 resource for leaders of math and science education to improve math and science professional development.

The Math and Science Partnership Program at NSF - An Overview

MSPnet was launched in 2004, in response to a growing national concern—the educational performance of U.S. children in mathematics and science. NSF's MSPnet program unites institutions of higher education with K-12 school districts to develop and implement pioneering ways of advancing mathematics and science teaching and learning. Projects funded through this NSF program impact more than 141,000 science and mathematics teachers and 4.2 million students in 530 school districts across the country.

PLATO Learning, TERC and MSPnet share a common bond—the desire to serve students and educators by supporting ways to:

• Enhance schools' capacity to provide challenging curricula for all students and encourage more students to succeed in advanced courses in mathematics and the sciences;
• Contribute to how students effectively learn mathematics and science and how teacher preparation and professional development can be improved,
• Augment research-based mathematics and science instruction

Just like TERC and MSPnet, PLATO Learning is committed to developing cutting edge math and science programs, designed to increase student achievement, as well as offer deeper professional development solutions for teachers.

Choosing math and science education instructional tools is very important

With PLATO® Secondary Mathematics and Science solutions, educators can choose a teaching method designed to help accelerate students' mathematics and science skills and prepare them for success in college and high-tech careers. Teachers can target instruction toward each student's academic needs with:

• Pre- and post-assessments that identify individual skill levels.
• Professional development in analyzing student data and differentiating instruction.
• Rigorous, age-appropriate supplemental\ curricula that address basic foundational skills through advanced concepts and investigations.
• Spiraling, reinforced content that advances to match students' advancing skills.

Through built-in comprehensive professional development programs, teachers are equipped with the means for continuous improvement, ensuring all math and science implementation strategies are tightly aligned with student achievement goals.

PLATO Secondary Mathematics and Science Solutions help educators provide appropriate research-based instruction for students using award-winning curricula. These products, built by experts who follow a judicious research and development process—offer innovative, quality products that meet standards and help students succeed.

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PLATO Learning also offers math products designed specifically to support student learning, as well as to help equip the classroom teacher with best-practice techniques for presenting math concepts. In addition, their math curriculums are mapped to the nation's top textbooks for easy integration into the classroom, and teacher support materials are embedded online into each level of instruction to save teachers preparation time.

PLATO Math products are an ideal professional development resource for educators because they include refresher lessons and skill building for elementary teachers who do not have an in-depth mathematics background.

PLATO Learning's Straight Curve Mathematics Series 1 and 2 offer ground-breaking supplemental classroom tools designed to enrich on-grade-level and advanced mathematics curriculum to provide a deeper instructional focus on the concepts that teachers find most challenging to instruct and that students in grades K-2 (Series 1) and 3-5 (Series 2) find most difficult to master within the NCTM strands of:

• Numbers and Operations
• Algebra
• Geometry
• Measurement
• Data Analysis and Probability

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