A SYSTEMS THINKER

OVERVIEW OF THE EXPERIENCE

As a middle school teacher, I became a Design and Innovation team member on my district’s team for the Math in Common community of practice (MiC COP). I worked with diverse stakeholders such as math specialists and several administrators to improve professional learning and cross-school collaboration.

​

I worked closely with the math specialists to implement digital tools that supported math learning. My classroom was open to observation from math teachers from my school and other schools within my district. The Math in Common community of practice was a ten-district collaboration focused on innovation in implementing the Common Core standards. Each participating district concentrated on one problem of practice.

IMPORTANCE & IMPACT

My district team focused on building collaborative structures across school campuses to improve math professional development across the district. The goal was to eliminate the silos that are often present within education. The community of practice existed to that team members in each section could address common problems of practices and exchange strategies and ideas. The community of practice met three times per year, and each district team consisted of diverse stakeholders such as math teachers, district math specialists, and administrators. Through the years, each district would host a workshop to showcase its plan's implementation. 

​

The seven-year Math in Common initiative resulted in reports that guide the implementation of Common Core State Standards in math for California.