Mathematics teachers from Ohio County Schools have collaborated over the past year to improve mathematics teaching and learning as part of the statewide “Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers” (M3T) network. As part of the network, the teachers from Ohio County work as a M3T “local improvement team,” focused on a shared problem faced across their mathematics classrooms, testing a shared solution, and working with other educators across the state to think about the impact and next steps.
“I am thankful to be part of the M3T network, where I am continuously inspired by the amazing mathematics educators from around our state. M3T has provided me with valuable experiences to grow as a teacher of mathematics and a teacher leader.” said Annie Vopal from Warwood School. “This network has continued to help improve my teaching year after year. The experience has offered me the opportunity to learn and grow as an educator that I never thought possible in 20 years of teaching”, said Jack Kaniecki, a mathematics teacher at Wheeling Park High School and one of 39 “M3T Fellows” from 26 county school districts across the state who facilitates the team’s work.
This year, more than 100 middle and high school mathematics teachers, in addition to the Fellows, have participated in the network through local improvement teams, impacting the experiences of more than 7,000 students to engage with mathematics more meaningfully in classrooms.
The M3T project network began in 2020 thanks to a six-year, $3 million grant to West Virginia University from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program, with additional support from the West Virginia Department of Education. The M3T project builds on previous efforts to support secondary mathematics instructional improvement that started in Pocahontas County over a decade ago, with an additional focus on promoting opportunities for teachers to assume leadership roles in that work.
Ohio County’s high school and middle school teams are led by Jack Kaniecki and Annie Vopal respectively. Each team worked for the past year to address a “bug” in their classrooms. Kaniecki’s team addressed students’ unwillingness to engage in word problems in their mathematics classrooms. Guided by the M3T network’s approach to improvement, the team has tested the use of a Word Problem Work Thru, which is a graphic organizer designed to help students organize the information in the problem. When given this tool, students were given a launching point and thus were more willing to attempt the problem.
Vopal’s team addressed math vocabulary in their middle school classrooms. The team implemented the cloze reading strategy to increase student ability to accurately recall and apply math terms. This idea promoted discourse of mathematics vocabulary among students as well as encouraging team members to be more cognizant of their focus on emphasizing vocabulary.
Across the M3T network, other teams have focused on problems such as students’ perseverance with mathematics and students’ willingness to share their mathematical thinking in class. The entire M3T network also started the year with a focus on the teaching and learning of data and statistics—a growing area of focus in the mathematics curriculum.
Those efforts have had an impact on both teachers and students across the state. Teachers participating in the M3T network report that the work is professionally worthwhile, valuable, and impactful at a far higher rate than West Virginia teachers rate available professional development.
Participating teachers in M3T also report a higher likelihood to stay in the teaching profession for longer. In a recent analysis of middle schools with M3T Local Improvement Teams operating for two consecutive years, student pass rates on state assessments have increased at a higher rate than the state average, nearly doubling in the 8th grade.
“I am so grateful to have worked with the Ohio County LIT team along with the whole network M3T math teachers who strive not only to improve instruction but to improve student performance as a result,” said JJ Duff, a mathematics teacher from Wheeling Park High School, and a participant in the group. “I learned so much this year about new techniques, resources, and strategies to help my students become more proficient in mathematics.”
While the M3T project grant supports the activity of Kaniecki and Vopal as Fellows, Ohio County Schools has supported the work of the local improvement teams, providing time and resources for the groups to meet. The High School LIT members, also WPHS educators, are Kerri Crews, Ashley Duff, JJ Duff, Elizabeth Jeffers, and Jessica Schultz. The middle school LIT is composed of Sarah Allen from Warwood School, Samantha Gentle and Reka Lowther from Triadelphia Middle School, and Mackenzi Sims from Bridge Street Middle School.
“We are so proud of our Ohio County Schools Math teachers who are always willing to continue learning. This program continues to invigorate our teachers, and in turn, our students,” states Ohio County Schools superintendent, Dr. Kimberly Miller.
In addition to their work as a team and their interactions with other educators across the M3T network, the teachers will be sharing their progress through a poster presentation at the annual conference of the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics, held in March. Kaniecki presented on using error analysis to gain better understanding and student participation during review. Aside from presenting at the conference, Kaniecki was also elected Vice President of Secondary for WVCTM and also awarded the Golden Holtan grant. M3T Fellows have also been part of presentations at national conferences focused on mathematics education, teacher leadership, and improvement in education. Vopal attended the 2023 Noyce Summit in Washington, DC, last summer as a representative of M3T and a co-presenter for a workshop titled, “Using Data and ‘Practical Measures’ in Networked and Collaborative Improvement of Teaching.”
