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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (June 17, 2015) — Public school teachers often face a challenging, and at times dizzying, array of new teaching methods, standards and assessments to master over the summer. To help make their jobs a little easier, Milligan College is training 40 teachers this week from across the region for better classroom success.
With funding from the Improving Teacher Quality (ITQ) Grant Program for the third year in a row, Milligan is using the grant to provide free training and three hours of free graduate school credit to the participating teachers.
This year’s workshop, “Putting the Pieces Together: Literacy, Modeling, and Problem-Solving for Fraction Instruction (Grades 3-5),” will help teachers in grades 3-5 practice and refine their teaching skills and develop effective methods for teaching fractions to their elementary school classes.
Fourth grade math and science teacher Jama Davidson, who came to the ITQ workshop with three other teachers from John Hay Elementary in Morristown, Tennessee, said this program will help their group better prepare their students for the new TNReady exam that will replace TCAP this year.
“We’re learning how to help students make better connections about fraction concepts,” said Davidson. “My hope is that my students next year will have a deeper understanding of fractions,” because of the workshop.
Christine Ingram, who teaches special education in grades 5-8 at Nolachuckey Elementary School in Greeneville, Tennessee, found the hands-on nature of the workshop especially helpful.
“Because we’re supposed to remediate skill deficiencies” in special education, said Ingram, “the workshop helps me zero in on where my students’ learning has taken a detour.”
Many of the teachers came in groups from their schools so they could work together and scaffold their instruction across various grade levels. The workshop also included children’s literature to encourage teachers to combine reading and math.
“We are so pleased that Milligan’s education faculty is able to make such a positive impact on our region’s schools,” said Dr. Lyn Howell, chair of Milligan’s education area. “Our area teachers work hard every day to refine their teaching skills and integrate the best methods for teaching their students, and it is an honor for us to offer valuable training through the ITQ grant.”
Milligan partnered with Elizabethton City Schools, Hamblen County Board of Education, Hawkins County Board of Education and the Sullivan County Board of Education to offer the grant, but teachers in grades 3-5 at any local public or private school were welcome to register for the program as long as slots were available.
Upon successful completion of the program, participants will receive three hours of graduate credit to apply as elective credit toward a Master of Education (M.Ed.) degree at Milligan.
The college offers two M.Ed. programs—the initial licensure program (for students seeking teaching licensure) and the advanced program.
The 36-credit-hour advanced program is for already-licensed teachers who want to add endorsement areas or prepare for board certification. The program integrates theory, action research and reflective practice and is designed to increase both the quality and quantity of the educational experiences for teachers in professional education.
For more information about Milligan’s M.Ed., contact Melissa Dillow, admissions recruiter for teacher education programs, at 423.461.8306 or visit www.milligan.edu/MEd.
To learn more about Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu.