History of the Lamar State College-Orange Mathematics Institutes

The Lamar State College-Orange Mathematics Institutes began in the early 1990's with Dr. Betty Eidemiller, division chairperson of the mathematics, science and business division and Judith Aronow, associate professor of mathematics. These summer sessions for elementary teachers focused on the enhancement of the mathematical knowledge of the participant teachers.

Beginning in 1994, Dr. Barbara Rives, Associate Professor of the Mathematics Department, began writing grants to provide mathematics instruction to area middle school mathematics teachers. The 1994 project was a summer session institute. Beginning in the fall of 1994, the funding agent (Eisenhower Higher Education Grants) required the incorporation of a school-year component for implementation of the summer content sessions.

Dr. Barbara Rives has been the project director and primary instructor of the Lamar State College-Orange Mathematics Institutes since 1994. Approximately twenty-five to thirty teachers have participated in each of the following institutes:

• Summer of 1994 -- Probability and Statistics for Teachers in Grades 5-8
• September 1994 - November 1995 -- Geometry for Teachers in Grades 5-8
• May 1, 1995 - September 30, 1996 -- Developing Number Sense in Grade 5-8
• 1996 - September 30, 1997 -- Foundations in Mathematics for Teachers in Grades PK-4
• May 1, 1997 - September 30, 1998 -- Developing Algebraic Thinking, Part I: A Vertically Teamed Mathematics Institute for Teachers in Grades 5-12
• May 1, 1998 - September 30, 1999 -- Developing Algebraic Thinking, Part II: A Vertically Teamed Mathematics Institute For Teachers in Grades 5-12
• May 1, 1998 - September 30, 1999 --Foundations in Mathematics for Teachers in Grades PK-4May 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000 -- Developing Algebraic Thinking, Part III: A Vertically Teamed Mathematics Institute for Teachers in Grades 5-12 (Mathematical Modeling)
• May 1, 1999 - September 30, 2000 -- Developing Geometric Thinking for Teachers in Grades 5-10 (Geometry For All)
• May 1, 2000 - September 30, 2001 -- Developing Mathematical Reasoning in the Middle Years, Part I (Proportionality, Algebraic Reasoning, and Geometry
• May 1, 2000 - September 30, 2001 -- Developing Algebraic Thinking, Part IV (Precalculus)
• May 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002 -- Developing Mathematical Reasoning in the Middle Years, Part I (Proportionality, Algebraic Reasoning, and Geometry)
• May 1, 2001 - September 30, 2002 - Algebra 2001 and Beyond (Algebra I and Algebra II and Precalculus)
• May 1, 2002 - September 30, 2003 -- Developing Mathematical Reasoning in the Middle Years, Part II (Numerical Reasoning, Statistics, and Geometry)
• May 1, 2002-September 30, 2003--Geometry 2002 and Beyond: A Mathematics Institute for Teachers in Grades 8-12

Proposals will be submitted for the Teacher Quality Grants in January 2003.