WMU represented at math education convocation
June 11, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Six WMU faculty members recently joined Gov. John Engler as well as other state and national leaders and mathematics educators for a one-day convocation recognizing ongoing efforts to improve K-12 mathematics education in Michigan.
Leonard Ginsberg, College of Arts and Sciences, and Christian Hirsch, Robert A. Laing, Sandra Madden, Ruth Ann Meyer and Beth Ritsema, all mathematics and statistics, attended "The Complete Equation: The Michigan Mathematics Success Story" convocation April 23 at the Kellogg Center at Michigan State University. Speakers at the program included Engler; U.S. Rep. Vernon Ehlers; Michigan Department of Education officials; and faculty members from WMU, the University of Michigan and MSU.
The convocation highlighted Michigan's efforts to continue to improve mathematics education and the role that research about teaching and learning has played in this work. WMU currently is engaged in a number of mathematics reform initiatives, including the Core-Plus Mathematics Project headed by Hirsch and the Middle School Mathematics Reform Project coordinated by Meyer and Laing. Both programs have received several million dollars in grants from the National Science Foundation and other national and state organizations and foundations.
Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu