In 2013, Questar III partnered with Excelsior College and TATA Interactive to develop Teaching Mathematics to 21st Century Learners, a slate of new professional development courses for teachers. In January of 2016, the partners will collectively be co-honored for their efforts at Brandon Hall Group Human Capital Management (HCM) Excellence Awards conference.
The joint initiative earned silver medal honors in the Learning and Development | Excellence in Learning | Best Advance in Custom Content category, which recognizes self-paced, custom-designed online courses targeted to address specific workplace learning needs. TATA Interactive Systems (TIS) is a global provider of learning solutions. “TIS’s involvement in the project included instructional design for the program, as well as technical implementation and project management,” said director of key accounts at TATA, Karolina Valterova. “We hope that it will actually impact how teachers view and implement in their classrooms the new standards and best practices for teaching mathematics.”
Course content was developed by Questar III math specialists with more than 175 years of teaching, administrative, and professional development experience. These individuals serve as course facilitators for each of the three courses.
“These online, self-paced courses continue our commitment to providing school districts with professional development experiences that improve teacher practice and student achievement,” said Questar III District Superintendent Dr. Gladys I. Cruz.
The courses within the Teaching Mathematics to 21st Century Learners program, offered via Excelsior’s Center for Professional Development are anchored within the Mathematics Standards that have been adopted by forty-five states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity. They are segmented by grade level: K-2, 3-5, and 6-8, and designed to provide:
- New approaches to teaching critical math skills using the Standards,
- Resources and teaching tools for use in the classroom,
- Best practices for effectively implementing the Concrete-Representational-Abstract model and grade-level appropriate teaching strategies,
- An in-depth look at the ‘who, what, why, and how’ of the Standards, from development to implementation.
“Considering the impact that a teacher can have on the life of a student, we need to make developing quality teachers our top priority – and that includes giving them the tools they need to succeed,” said Ruth Ann Murray, executive director, Center for Professional Development at Excelsior College. “These courses do that, helping teachers not just navigate the complexities of the new standards but use them to become better instructors.”
First pioneered in 1994, the Brandon Hall Group HCM Excellence Awards recognize organizations that have successfully deployed programs, strategies, modalities, processes, systems, and tools that have achieved measurable results. Entries are evaluated by a panel of independent senior industry experts, including Brandon Hall Group senior analysts and executive leadership based upon the following criteria: how an identified need is addressed, design of the program, functionality, innovation, and overall measureable benefits. Previous award winners include Boeing, General Electric, MasterCard, Microsoft and PepsiCo.
