STEM Ed Announcement: The Coaching Cycle, An Interactive Online Course for K-8 Mathematics Coaches

[Morton Sternheim <mort@k12s.phast.umass.edu>]

Online Course for K-8 Math Coaches
Apply Now! 
Dear Coaching Colleagues.

We're now accepting applications for The Coaching Cycle:  An Interactive Online Course for K-8 Mathematics Coaches: 
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102864185841&s=2455&e=001JxdMJYa2-nCzLyDc2F2efuWhBilO1crjy3WOnv-znKq4zekYqVviQfqO8oA7620qNEnrUQTAVaPDDDHszOdl98fkA2dyG_71NLgKDW13uuzgNi-RSrcGOU-Du1w50_lzFYHyM51hjDQ-bW9RMiz8BROduNmnBLA_
a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for coaches in small and rural districts.  The NSF's goal for this project is to support coaches in districts that because of size, location, or resources lack either the capacity to provide comprehensive professional development for its coaches or the critical mass needed to provide its coaches with a professional community of practice.

Please...read through the following details to determine if you, your district, and the course are a good match.  If so, click on the online application form below. 

   1. This course is designed for practicing and prospective K-8 mathematics coaches, or those responsible for overseeing K-8 math coaching programs.
   2. The NSF's target audience for this course is coaches whose small, rural, or geographically isolated districts lack the capacity to provide comprehensive face-to-face training for their coaches.  
   3. Because this upcoming version of the course is designated as a field test in an NSF research project, there will be data collection surveys to complete.  Your feedback will help us both to fine-tune the course and to discover what you've learned. (This is important, since there is precious little research on instructional coaching.  The NSF considers your feedback to be enormously helpful in building a research base.)
   4. The course will run for 9 sessions over an 11-week period, on a Wednesday-through-Tuesday schedule, from Wednesday, February 10 through Tuesday, April 27.
   5. There is a course fee of $150, due January 31, for applicants accepted as course participants.
   6. Each participant completing the course will receive a copy of both NCSM's Prime Leadership Framework: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102864185841&s=2455&e=001JxdMJYa2-nBl_lZkGrdF1gbzTWr1izSIAK3NkVZbkNJSYMJiNKhP6xNorv28PnVcIELVxWzW-mQNOP2bKiG1MPMSkhT7M-urGMDJ3y_4ZnX99JC3CFB1JVw7OWteB79b6aGRtzxXPGBu-ZszNdg9BEgSA-_SvM79
 and Amy Morse's Cultivating a Math Coaching Practice:
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102864185841&s=2455&e=001JxdMJYa2-nB08YONoT-JYXOZmgR-lTzA8xqPmvVYL1T20IYoTx-8AULfLukfciK1YCD4w7K708d-ckTTIRQvijw45gd6TUpwfDcv8GDOxUs_PRwsswU-iRmF5VJyuOIrkj4MHVunl135EqFd3EH8C7VGelLxwCPQo9eviPosEi1tKh5MgsDUd11Fsd_Hh0ic
   7. You can earn 3 graduate level continuing education credits from Regis College: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102864185841&s=2455&e=001JxdMJYa2-nDO56IFUp6-jsy6w_p6vPKhVqZd4YTdl5KbOT8ygwZwFauVDCTfuGkoQwyFXpMXYlgkMLFrIOg8EhQaDT8DsImv9j8DeVwC74YrmryYjwY7-A==

 for an additional fee of $300. (You can decide on this after we confirm your enrollment in the course.)
   8. For a comprehensive overview of course content and expectations, download a copy of the Course Syllabus: http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102864185841&s=2455&e=001JxdMJYa2-nAj88d5xccchL3qiyIqiNs5xx9MRQ3VjoZU2wGNpi4bOxakZ87-tAXXMkhRlqMmYxMTROFspj0GnFgvkbESOdIx1-lIi1jh5zIfpaJLPrMzwcBIs_aaJO7L9zv5W-dkqlHlHbPV6zvvzuyn9u51qfMAgXIuK0qxtohlinnBCx2uXPTy5ZijZx0c  

(Even if you don't plan to take the course for graduate credit, please review the syllabus, since the same academic and participatory expectations apply to both credit and non-credit participants. Especially note section H, which describes scheduling and workflow for the interactive nature of this online course.)
   9. There's a cap on enrollment:  20 participants. 
  10. The application deadline is Tuesday, December 22, 2009. So hurry!  Sign up soon by completing the online application form:
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102864185841&s=2455&e=001JxdMJYa2-nCgah40mz3bAzalefWMJ7Zqw30_m8VUB_o-AI8BhylBtHP5s0UWQ25scJcQCH2gdIcVkp9VhETlbjLN0KNzURErIAB7MXClth8TvcrtsZO0lNk_eJeKGqG20rlndOKm3h8QcmFAIjNP9IyCehYbGc_2d7dmhxkyayQ=
  11. Want to see more? Go to our course portal, http://edc.blackboard.com/ Sign in with the User Name and Password: mathcoach. Then, click on the links in the sidebar for the Course Overview and Sessions pages.
  12. After reviewing all applications we'll get back to you in mid-January to let you know if you're part of this field test cohort.

With warmest regards as I look forward to working with you on this unique staff development project.

Loretta Heuer, Sr. Research and Development Associate
LHeuer@edc.org   Phone: 617.618.2559, Fax:  617 969-1527
http://www2.edc.org/mlt/
Education Development Center, Inc.
55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA  02458