Institute for Research on Learning, Middle-school Mathematics Through Applications Project (MMAP):
Satellite Information and Services

The Middle-school Mathematics Through Applications Project (MMAP) is nearing the end of developing and researching a comprehensive middle-school mathematics curriculum for grades six through eight. We are now moving from curriculum development to participation in the implementation process as schools, districts, and states choose new curricula for middle school mathematics. Project staff will continue the interactive research and design process, paying attention to what is accomplished and involving intended audiences in the development of products and processes. Activities of the MMAP Satellite include the following, subject to change as implementation needs present themselves:

• Curriculum institutes. In week-long institutes, teacher leaders and state and district personnel will experience the MMAP curriculum, learn about the design, teaching and learning principles that underlie it, and discuss implementation and leadership issues. Teachers currently part of the MMAP community, as well as MMAP staff, will be leaders in the workshops.
  
  
• Technical assistance to districts. MMAP team members will meet with selected sites considering adoption of MMAP materials and provide assistance in matching MMAP math goals with local standards and frameworks, effectively using technologies and planning for professional development. Project staff will collect all documentation related to this work, make it available to Show-Me, and generalize it for the reform community at large.
  
  
• On-line MMAP-user community support. MMAP will develop and maintain a World Wide Web site with information about the curriculum and mathematics education reform as well as moderated forums on topics of interest to MMAP users.
  
  
• Materials to support curriculum selection. In collaboration with Show-Me Center and Satellites, MMAP will develop materials to help districts plan for choosing and implementing a middle-school math curriculum.
  
  
• Awareness and outreach activities. MMAP team members will lead workshops and give presentations at conferences such as NCTM and the Urban Middle-school Association that are widely attended by potential MMAP users. While some of these may be curriculum specific, the overall focus will be on topics of interest to reformers in general, such as assessment, equity and specific mathematics topics.
  
  
• Focus on parental involvement. MMAP will focus on parental involvement for the benefit of all Show-Me satellites. The mathematics education community faces a host of questions: How can parents and educators work together to ensure greater success in mathematics for middle schoolers? What are new roles for parents with regard to at-home math learning? What are potential trouble spots, as identified in early-adopter communities, and what are strategies for avoiding them? How can parents, particularly parents of color, help schools better address equity issues? MMAP will address these questions by tracking all of the Show Me satellites concerns and insights regarding parents, and by sharing products and results from PRIMES, IRL's parent-involvement project. Particular attention will be paid to the needs of parents in communities where reform curricula are being adopted.
  
  
• Early adopter data. MMAP will provide the Show-Me Center any available data, from MMAP pilot or early adopter sites, related to student achievement. In particular, scores from in-place on-demand assessments and samples of student work will be gathered. The MMAP Satellite will continue its successful interactive research and design of the above materials and processes by collecting data on what people do with the drafts and trial processes, and inviting users to be part of the development team. This will lead to the improvement of all the materials as, well as provide potential insights of importance to the mathematics education community.