Assessment Project for Erie County Teachers (ASPECT)

ASPECT--Assessment Project for Erie County Teachers--was designed for K-12 teachers in schools located in Erie County. The program represents the collaborative efforts of Bowling Green State University, the Erie County Office of Education, the districts within Erie County, the Diocese of Toledo, Project Discovery, and the Northwest Ohio Regional Professional Development Center. Instructors for the program included mathematics educators from BGSU and consultants from Discovery and the RPDC. The primary purpose of the program is to provide inservice for teachers on the use of alternative assessment in the mathematics classroom. Through hands-on explorations and reflective teaching, participants develop their knowledge and understanding of the vision of the three Standards documents of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, with a particular focus on the Assessment Standards for School Mathematics.

Detailed planning involving a collaborative team occurred in the Fall of 1995. A Winter/Spring 1996 component featured five monthly meetings of teachers to illustrate reform efforts in mathematics and to focus on assessment as an integral component in the teaching and learning process. An intensive week in the Summer of 1996 involved 38 hours of inservice and ample opportunities for teachers to build relationships with one another. During this segment, teachers developed implementation plans. Follow-up meetings in the Fall of 1996 are involving the presentation and discussion of additional assessment ideas and the preparation of a document that will serve as a resource book for all teachers throughout the county. ASPECT teachers will conduct inservices and distribute copies of the document.

Participants have become more familiar with the NCTM Standards and have field tested a variety of alternative assessment strategies to identify those that best fit their style and needs. While focusing on assessment, the program has also developed knowledge of inquiry-based teaching and pedagogical issues such as cooperative learning and technology. As participants in a long-term project, teachers are building a camaraderie that will continue long after completion of ASPECT.


Funded by a grant from the Ohio Board of Regents' Dwight D. Eisenhower Mathematics and Science Program. For more information, contact Daniel Brahier at brahier@bgnet.bgsu.edu



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