Connecting Industry to Math Instruction

Abstract: In the NSF-Funded Connecting Industry to Math Instruction (CIMI) project, three cohorts of 16 high school math teachers and four community college math instructors will receive side-by-side training to integrate industry-inspired activities into math lessons to help approximately 7,000 students see the relevance of math in a future career.  During each of three summers, participants will develop 10-20 contextualized math activities over a 10-day CIMI Summer Workshop to use in their respective math courses.  The workshops will also allow math teachers and instructors to interact with a variety of subject matter experts local industry representatives, Wake Tech's Applied Engineering & Technologies faculty, and Wake County Public School System's Career and Technical Education teachers to experience first-hand the application of math concepts in advanced technology careers.

With subject matter expert input, participants will design math activities (including student tasks, teacher notes, and video scripts) during the summer.  They will reconvene through four one-day Follow-On sessions during the school year to refine activities and receive feedback from each other and from industry experts.  The project also provides the opportunity for approximately 96 high school student participants (two per teacher per year) who demonstrate particular interest in advanced technological careers to join the teacher's fourth Follow-On session each year to participate in industry engagement sessions and visit WTCC classrooms and laboratories. 

The project will result in increased use of contextualized math activities in high school and community college classrooms locally, as well as an online catalog of self-contained, industry-validated activities based on authentic, STEM industry-inspired scenarios, which can be used by math educators across the country.

The project also addresses the National Science Foundation's goal of increasing diversity in STEM. The CIMI project will include training faculty to better recruit & retain diverse students.  In addition, most math activities will have accompanying videos in which we will have an opportunity to show a diverse STEM workforce, thanks to the support of local industry representatives and involvement of organizations like the local chapters of the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers.