Mathematics Center for Learning and Teaching

 

The Hunter College Mathematics Center for Learning and Teaching (MCLT) is dedicated to the students of the New York City Public Schools in their quest to learn mathematics, which is the gate-keeper in many fields of endeavor, from the pure to the social sciences. The Center seeks to promote the mathematics competency pre-kindergarten through grade 12 children by providing them with teachers who

  • have in-depth knowledge of the mathematics that forms the foundation of the content and skills they communicate;
  • understand the children they are teaching;
  • have the necessary pedagogical skills to bring the children and the mathematics together.

The Center seeks to fulfill its mission by direct interaction with those who make the maximum contribution to students learning mathematics—the classroom teachers.

History

The Hunter College Mathematics Center for Learning and Teaching grew out of the working partnership between mathematics education and mathematics faculty united in the belief that

  • teachers must be viewed as both learners and practitioners;
  • pre-service and in-service teachers need quality professional development characterized by the integration of content and pedagogy.

Work

With its partner schools and educational organizations, including the UFT Teachers’ Center, the MCLT plans and conducts long-range staff development programs for teachers in grades K-12. The focus of these programs is the deepening of the teachers’ mathematical and pedagogical knowledge leading to more creative approaches in communicating mathematics to their students.

The MCLT also provides programs planned specifically for Parent Coordinators, who constitute the educational link to the community within the school structure.

The Center also provides on-site support to schools in the development of curriculum and in-class support. Staff of the Center visit schools for meetings with teachers and administrators to develop school-based plans for enhancing the mathematics program while observing and co-teaching mathematics classes.

Through its collaboration with the Association of Teachers of Mathematics of New York City (ATMNYC), the MCLT co-sponsors the ATMNYC Annual Fall Conference conducted at Hunter College.

Within the School of Education, the MCLT provides presentations on mathematics for several teaching and leadership programs in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching and supports the maintenance and continued growth of the undergraduate and graduate programs in mathematics education.