Leadership in Teaching: Mathematics Instructional Leader
MA
The Master of Arts in Leadership in Teaching: Mathematics Instructional Leader program prepares elementary and middle school mathematics teachers for roles as mathematics instructional leaders, with particular attention to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) content knowledge standards.
Program Locations
Student Outcomes
As a student in this program, you will be able to:
- Apply mathematics pedagogical concepts for diverse learners, including problem solving and the effective use of mathematics specific and general instructional technology.
- Design learning opportunities for students, teachers, and parents that align with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Maryland College and Career-Ready, and state and national assessments, goals, principles, and standards.
- Develop critical thinking skills and an understanding of current research based practices through reading and analyzing information in research journal articles in mathematics education.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the mathematics content taught in mathematics, including numbers and operations, geometry, data, algebra, and calculus (4-9 only).
Program Outcomes
At the completion of the program, you will be able to:
- Pass all national testing requirements, as applicable, achieving a 100% pass rate for NDMU.
- Enhance career and professional development opportunities for employment pathways in the profession, e.g., mathematics teacher, mathematics instructional leader, mathematics curriculum specialist.
- Create and evaluate transdisciplinary curricula and resources to support educator development and student learning.
- Design, conduct, and evaluate professional learning opportunities for teachers, families, and the community that use current research to promote improvements in instruction and student learning.
Faculty
- Assistant Professor
- Associate Professor
Courses
Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Educational Research: EDU-543 (3 credits)
Provides an interactive learning environment that will enable students to acquire knowledge, skills and abilities required for the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of educational research. In addition, the course will enable students to cultivate the skills necessary for engaging in their own creative and meaningful research. [ 3 credits ]Leadership Seminar I: EDU-557 (3 credits)
Analyzes various models of leadership and explores societal and personal assumptions about leadership. Students investigate key elements of effective leadership and raise questions from several cultural viewpoints. Participants will be encouraged to integrate and apply diverse leadership perspectives in order to enhance their leadership abilities and strengthen their capacity to lead as educational professionals. [ 3 credits ]Learning Theory and Practice: EDU-567 (3 credits)
Evaluates theories of learning from cognitive, physiological and affective perspectives as a basis for effective instructional practice. Research into the theoretical basis for learning and higher level thinking skills is applied to educational planning, implementation, and evaluation. [ 3 credits ]Special Topics in Mathematics Education: EDU-583 (3 credits)
This course will examine effective instruction in the elementary and middle school mathematics classroom. Instruction will focus on studying how students learn mathematics and the pedagogical knowledge specific to mathematics teaching and learning. Candidates will analyze the mathematical thinking of students, integrate technology into mathematics instruction, and support a positive disposition toward mathematical processes and mathematical learning. The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards, Maryland Common Core Curriculum including the Standards for Mathematical Practices, and the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessments will be addressed. Problem solving approaches, authentic tasks, and active learning strategies will be included. This is web-assisted course in which participants will use various websites for the completion of some assignments. [ 3 credits ]
Practicum: Leadership in Mathematics Practicum: EDU-616 (3 credits)
This course will provide students experiences in mathematics leadership. The candidate will work under the supervision of a building administrator and will function as a mathematics leader in the building. During class, candidates will define the role of a mathematics leader, learn about models of professional development and identify strategies for improving student achievement in mathematics. In the practicum, candidates will be responsible for planning, implementing professional development opportunities for faculty members and develop a program that will involve families in the mathematics education program. Candidates will learn about the Maryland Common Core State Curriculum, Standards for Mathematical Practices, and PARCC assessments (as they become available). This is a hybrid course in which participants will meet for five in-class sessions and participate in five online classes. [3 credits]Number and Operations for the Middle School Educator: MAT-501 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of the rational numbers with reflection on the teaching and learning of arithmetic concepts in the spirit of the NCTM?s Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematical content includes rational numbers and their fundamental algorithms, the place of the rational numbers in the real number system, scientific notation as a means of expressing very large and very small numbers and number theory topics appropriate for the middle school. [ 3 credits ]Fundamentals of Algebra for the Middle School Educator: MAT-503 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of algebra and its applications to the world around us with reflection on the teaching and learning of algebraic concepts in the spirit of the NCTM's Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematical content focuses on basic algebraic concepts including signed numbers and their operations, problem solving, quantitative and qualitative graphs, proportional reasoning, linear functions, and functions defined by tables and graphs. Algebra is presented as the study of patterns, as a symbolic language, as a tool for problem solving, and as a way of modeling and understanding the physical world. Graphing calculators are used throughout the course. [ 3 credits ]Algebraic Functions for the Middle School Educator: MAT-507 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of algebraic functions and their applications to the world around us with reflection on the teaching and learning of algebraic concepts in the spirit of the NCTM's Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematical content focuses on the function concept, function notation, function definition by equation, table and graph, rates of change, linear, quadratic and exponential functions and their applications. Graphing calculators are used throughout the course to explore functions and their properties numerically and graphically. Prerequisite: MAT-503 Fundamentals of Algebra for the Middle School Educator. [ 3 credits ]Geometry and Measurement for the Middle School Educator: MAT-521 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of geometric shapes, spatial reasoning, and measurement with reflection on the van Hiele framework and the NCTM's Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematical content includes two-and three-dimensional shapes and their properties e.g. congruence, similarity and symmetry, spatial reasoning and transformations, the measurement process and techniques. Interactive software will be used in the exploration of these topics. [ 3 credits ]Data Analysis and Statistics for the Middle School Educator: MAT-531 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of data analysis and statistics with reflection on the teaching and learning of data analysis in the spirit of the NCTM's Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematical content includes experimental design and data collection, displaying data, exploring and interpreting data, measures of center and spread, ways to investigate the association between two variables and misuses of statistics. Graphing calculators and spreadsheet software are used throughout the course. [ 3 credits ]Discrete Mathematics and Probability for the Middle School Educator: MAT-532 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of discrete mathematics (sets, logic, counting) and probability with reflection on the teaching and learning of these concepts in the spirit of the NCTM's Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematical content includes sets and their operations, logical connectives and quantified statements, types of mathematical arguments and proofs, counting techniques, the probability of simple and compound events, sample spaces, probability distributions, and the use of simulations to generate data for determining probabilities and to test conjectures. Graphing calculators are used throughout the course. [ 3 credits ]Calculus for Middle School Educators: MAT-533 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of calculus and its connections to the middle school curriculum with reflection on the teaching and learning of these concepts in the spirit of the NCTM's Principles and Standards of School Mathematics. Mathematics content includes sequences and series, functions, differentiation, integration and applications. Graphing calculators are used throughout the course. [ 3 credits ]Number and Operations for Elementary School Educators: MAT-541 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of the whole numbers and the integers with the approach to mathematics teaching and learning found in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards of School Mathematics and the Maryland State Standards. Mathematical content includes place value, estimation, conceptual underpinnings of the conventional computational algorithms for whole numbers and extending these ideas to the integers. Early number concepts, how students develop number sense, how to judge when student-developed procedures are mathematically sound, common misconceptions and how to address these misconceptions are integral to this course. [ 3 credits ]Number and Relationships for Elementary School Educators: MAT-542 (3 credits)
A continuation of Number and Operations for Elementary School Educators extending the ideas developed for whole numbers and integers to the rational numbers (represented as fractions and decimals) and the behavior of units under the four basic operations. Mathematical content also includes ratio and proportion as well as basic concepts of number theory. The mathematical content is integrated with the approach to mathematics teaching and learning found in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards of School Mathematics and the Maryland State Standards. Common misconceptions related to this material and how to address these misconceptions are integral to the course. [ 3 credits ]Geometry and Measurement for Elementary School Educators: MAT-543 (3 credits)
Mathematical content focuses on the development of visualization skills, familiarity with basic shapes, their properties, and the relationships between them (e.g., transformations, similarity and congruence), the communication of geometric ideas, the process of measurement, and working with length, area and volume. The mathematical content is integrated with the approach to the teaching and learning of these concepts found in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards of School Mathematics and the Maryland State Standards. Reflection on the van Heile model for the development of geometric understanding is integral to the course as is the consideration of relevant common misconceptions and how to address them. [ 3 credits ]Data Analysis and Probability for Elementary School Teachers: MAT-544 (3 credits)
An integration of the study of probability and statistics with the approach to the teaching and learning of these concepts found in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards of School Mathematics and the Maryland State Standards. Mathematical content includes designing data investigations, describing data in graphical and numerical formats, drawing conclusions, theoretical and empirical probability for simple events and two or more independent events, randomness and the difference between predicting individual events and predicting patterns of events. How students learn these concepts, associated misconceptions and how to address them are also considered in the course. [ 3 credits ]Patterns and Algebraic Thinking for Elementary School Educators: MAT-545 (3 credits)
Mathematical content includes the study of patterns, representing and justifying the resultant generalizations using algebraic notation and other representations, expressing functional relationships in symbolic and graphical format, proportional reasoning, solving linear equations and inequalities through the application of basic properties of the real numbers. The mathematical content is integrated with the approach to mathematics teaching and learning found in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards of School Mathematics and the Maryland State Standards. Common misconceptions related to this material and how to address these misconceptions are integral to the course. [ 3 credits ]Algebra for Elementary School Educators: MAT-546 (3 credits)
A continuation of Patterns and A lgebraic Thinking for Elementary School Educators, extending the ideas considered there to functions defined by tables and graphs and to functions defined in either closed or recursive forms. Mathematical content also includes quantitative and qualitative graphs, proportional reasoning, linear and quadratic functions, the field properties of the real numbers, rates of change, and applications of algebraic concepts in problem solving. The mathematical content is integrated with the approach to mathematics teaching and learning found in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Principles and Standards of School Mathematics and the Maryland State Standards. Common misconceptions related to this material and how to address these misconceptions are integral to the course. [ 3 credits ]
Math Instructional Leader Grades PreK-6
Required Courses
MAT 541 - Number and Operations for Elementary School Educators
MAT 542 - Number and Relationships for Elementary School Educators
MAT 543 - Geometry and Measurement for Elementary School Educators
MAT 544 - Data Analysis and Probability for Elementary School Educators
MAT 545 - Patterns and Algebraic Thinking for Elementary School Educators
MAT 546 - Algebra for Elementary School Educators
EDU 616 - Mathematics Leadership Practicum
EDU 567 - Learning Theory and Practice
EDU 583 - Special Topics in Mathematics Education
EDU 557 - Leadership Seminar I
EDU 543 - Reading, Analyzing, and Interpreting Education Research
EDU 665 - Digital Game-Based Learning and Design
Math Instructional Leader Grades 4-9
Required Courses
MAT 501 - Number and Operations
MAT 503 - Fundamentals of Algebra
MAT 507 - Algebraic Functions
MAT 521 - Measurement and Geometry
MAT 531 - Data Analysis and Statistics
MAT 532 - Probability and Simulations
MAT 533 - Pre Calculus
EDU 557 - Leadership Seminar I
EDU 567 - Learning Theory and Practice
EDU 583 - Special Topics in Mathematics Education
EDU 543 - Reading, Analyzing, and Interpreting Education Research
EDU 616 - Leadership in Mathematics Education Practicum
What to Expect Studying at Notre Dame of Maryland University
With award-winning teacher certification programs nationally recognized by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, you can expect to benefit from small class sizes, expert faculty, and practical field experiences.
Flexible Class Schedules
Work with an advisor to develop a personalized program plan:
- Courses offered in the evenings at times convenient for working adults.
- Occasional courses available on Saturdays or online.
Education Careers
Notre Dame is one of the state’s largest and most significant private providers of teacher education.
Graduates of our program act as instructional leaders in their schools and districts. They have assumed positions as mathematics coach, curriculum developer, facilitator, professional development coordinator, supervisor of mathematics and department chairs.