thank you

[Fred]

Greetings to all. First, allow me to extend my thanks to Jane
Wilburne for inviting the membership of the Pennsylvania Association
of Colleges and Teacher Educators (PAC-TE) to participate in this
conversation about the mathematics specialist certificate proposal.
As President of PAC-TE, I take keen interest in following the progress
that the group makes toward proposing the certificate to the
Pennsylvania Department of Education. As a teacher educator (however,
not as a mathematics teacher educator), I am profoundly committed to
the preparation of highly effective teachers, and I look forward to
learning about initiatives designed to advance the cause. I believe
that the expertise of Pennsylvania’s teacher educators serves well to
support that kind of preparation. I also believe that collaboration
between higher education and basic education is certainly essential to
bridging learning gaps, mathematics or otherwise. Accordingly, I am
pleased to see that this Google Group consists of representatives from
both entities.

When reading the dialogue between Steve and Judy, I am reminded of a
landmark study and a follow-up book that address their concerns for
improving mathematics education and achievement in our classrooms. If
you haven’t yet taken a look at the Third International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMMS) or read THE TEACHING GAP (Stigler and
Hiebert, 1999, 2009), try them out – they make great beach reading.
What I find in these resources is informative and enlightening,
especially within the context of this discussion. Much is said and
analyzed about the teaching, not the teacher, in these works that
resonates in me when I consider the notion of the highly effective
teacher.

Fred