On February 6, 2019, the entire Bell Middle School Math Department, including special education co-teachers, and their principal, Precious Jackson-Hubbard, took a professional field trip to San Diego State University (SDSU). The day began with engagement in math and icebreaker activities with the Director of the San Diego Math Project (SDMP), Lisa Lamb, and one of the SDMP middle school teacher leaders, Jean Zelt. The Bell math team spent the rest of the morning developing a shared vision for great math classrooms and touring the SDSU campus, hearing about all of the resources available to students through The Office of Educational Opportunity Programs (EOP) and Ethnic Affairs. During lunch, the Bell math team had an opportunity to meet the Director of the School of Teacher Education, Dr. Lynne Bercaw, and the Dean for the College of Education, Dr. Y. Barry Chung. The full day ended with an opportunity to talk about shifts in math instruction for the SDSU Mathematics Department in recent years with Dr. Janet Bowers, the Director of the SDSU Math Learning Center. The discussion included an opportunity to participate in an actual Precalculus classroom with SDSU students that used technology to deepen students’ understanding.
Through the GEAR UP grant awarded in 2018, the Bell Middle School math team will have many opportunities to collaborate with the San Diego Math Project and the SDSU community over the next 5 years. The team appreciated the hospitality and introduction to the expertise available to help them to further develop the Bell Middle School math program.
