In 2005, the Center for Literacy Studies received a $1.16 million grant from the National Science Foundation's Teacher Professional Continuum program (NSF_ESI-0455610). This four-year project, conducted in collaboration with TERC, a Cambridge, MA non-profit educational organization, will develop, pilot and field-test a model for standards-based mathematics in-service professional development for adult basic education teachers. The model uses teacher inquiry and reflective learning to engage teachers in learning how to design and implement purposeful and effective standards-based mathematics instructional approaches to algebra and data analysis. Massachusetts and Ohio are piloting the model this year (2005) and it will be field-tested in five additional states. The components of the model include three intensive two-day institutes, using materials developed at TERC under a previous NSF grant (EMPower), local between-institute meetings, a website, and close coordination/buy-in from the state's ABE office and staff development resource center. For example, in Massachusetts, TIAN was developed with a team from the MA Department of Education and SABES, the state literacy resource center. In Ohio, the Ohio Department of Education and OLRC are the collaborators.

The formative and summative evaluations of the project will focus upon change in teacher participants' mathematical content knowledge, pedagogical practice, and connection to their state ABE mathematics/numeracy standards.

Principle Investigators Beth Bingman and Mary Jane Schmitt expect that implementing this model will build the capacity of states' adult education agencies to support standards-based innovative math instruction for adults. For more information, please contact: Beth Bingman (bingman@utk.edu) or Mary Jane Schmitt.

Mary Jane Schmitt works with TERC and is a principle investigator of TIAN. She can be reached at: mary_jane_schmitt@terc.edu