Whether your organization has 2 or 2,000 teachers, the UCLA Curtis Center can provide a professional development program tailored to your individual needs. Our team of experienced mathematics education professionals and mathematicians has worked with schools and groups around the country to improve teacher content knowledge, create meaningful assessments, write curriculum, coach new teachers, and so much more. We can’t wait to work with you and your team!
Current research shows the importance of creating mathematics classrooms in which students engage in rich, real-world problems, have meaningful mathematical conversations with their peers, investigate and discover patterns, make conjectures, justify their thinking, and are active participants in their own mathematical journey. How can we nurture this environment in classrooms, especially when so many of us were trained in a system that emphasized memorization and calculation completely devoid of context?
The Just in Time Professional development program brings teachers together in grade-alike groups each quarter to experience UCLA Curtis Center model lessons specifically designed to foster rich, interactive classrooms. Facilitators model best practices as the teachers experience new mathematics as student-learners. The lessons are specifically chosen to cover topics the teachers will be covering in the upcoming quarter of their school’s curriculum guide so that the material is fresh on their minds, giving them the confidence to successfully implement them.
Through participation in the program, teachers will experience a hands-on, interactive classroom as learners, receive classroom-ready lessons specifically tailored to their syllabus, and get support from Curtis Center staff throughout the implementation process.
The UCLA Curtis Center was chosen by Smarter Balanced to create a bank of performance tasks for the end-of-year assessment given in 14 states and territories. Teachers will be taken through the same process our writers went through to generate assessment items with meaningful real-world contexts that require students to think creatively and justify their thinking. This process includes creating rubrics, analyzing student work, collaborating online with research mathematicians and educational professionals, providing access for students of all abilities, and building professional relationships with colleagues. Participants in the course will leave with an insider understanding of the SBAC assessment items, a bank of performance tasks to use in their classrooms, and meaningful professional growth. The course is offered to individuals, schools, and districts.
Deciding between an integrated and a traditional pathway? Unsure about how acceleration options are viewed by universities? Having trouble finding parental support for the educational goals of your math department? Confused by the textbook adoption process? Having trouble writing scope and sequence documents for your courses? We’re here to help! We provide customized consulting services to districts, schools, and other organizations to answer these questions and just about any others. Our experienced team includes specialists that have participated in state and national panels on these topics and are happy to provide our support as you make these important decisions.
At the UCLA Curtis Center, we believe that every district, school, and teacher is unique. To meet these diverse needs, we offer professional development customized to the specific challenges of your organization. Once we gain a better understanding of your situation, we can work with all stakeholders to develop a plan to create meaningful, lasting change.
