Helix High Math Instructor Selected for Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship

Helix Charter High School mathematics teacher Cheryl Tyler has been selected for the 2011 Math for America San Diego Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship program, according to Barbara Edwards, executive director of Math for America San Diego (MfA SD). Now in its fourth year, MfA SD is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving mathematics education in San Diego County public secondary schools.

“Cheryl brings 25 years of exemplary teaching experience in mathematics education to the MfA SD Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship,” Edwards said. “She is a highly dedicated teacher who understands the role of leadership, collaboration and professional development for improving mathematics understanding and achievement in our schools.” MfA SD is welcoming seven fellows to its new Master Teaching Fellowship program this year.

Supported through a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the five-year MfA SD Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship offers comprehensive leadership training and professional development to experienced middle and high school mathematics teachers who currently teach in high need school districts. Fellows receive an annual $10,000 stipend and rigorous professional development, including participation in a three-week summer institute and yearlong training sessions. Five additional Master Teaching Fellows will be selected for the 2012 program.

“Our new MfA SD Noyce Master Teaching Fellows are experienced educators committed to working with their colleagues for increased mathematics understanding and achievement in students,” said Dr. Guershon Harel, professor of mathematics at the University of California, San Diego and principal investigator of the NSF grant. “Our program will enhance their instructional and leadership capabilities and provide new opportunities for collaboration among their department and district colleagues.”

In addition to teaching at Helix Charter High School, Tyler served as a project specialist for the San Diego County Office of Education and as a curriculum specialist for the Grossmont Union High School District. She has extensive leadership and training experience and currently is an instructor for the Verification Process in Special Settings (VPSS), teaching upper level math concepts to non-math credentialed teachers in special setting to meet the No Child Left Behind requirements. Tyler has chaired and led numerous committees including the Cal-PASS Grant with the Grossmont and Cuyamaca Community College District, the East County Algebra Task Force and the East County Mathematics Collaborative. She holds a BS degree in Mathematics Education from the University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, and a MS degree in Educational Counseling from National University, San Diego, CA. Tyler and her family reside in the El Cerrito area of San Diego.

“Professional development is critical to growth for teachers,” Tyler said. “The MfA SD Master Teaching Fellowship will provide researched strategies that can be shared and cultivated with new teachers as well as experienced ones. I want to learn more effective ways to teach students and share to these approaches with my colleagues.”

Under the direction of Dr. Harel, Master Teaching Fellows review existing teaching approaches and curricula, and explore alternative, research-based teaching practices, including DNR (Duality, Necessity and Repeated Reasoning), a teaching methodology developed by Dr. Harel. The DNR approach differs from other professional development work by simultaneously concentrating on a teacher’s knowledge of mathematics, of how students learn and on specific teaching methods. In addition to receiving onsite support, Master Teaching Fellows are able to visit and observe a mathematics classroom at Patrick Henry High School (PHHS) where MfA SD Senior Program Associate and PHHS mathematics teacher Dr. Ovie Soto demonstrates the use of DNR in his daily mathematics instruction.

“These Master Teaching Fellows are teacher leaders who have dedicated their careers to improving student mathematics understanding and to sharing their knowledge and capabilities with their peers,” said Edwards said. “We are inspired by their enthusiasm and honored to have them involved in this important work. We’re hopeful the new MfA Noyce Master Teaching Fellowship will provide local districts with the additional support needed for better mathematics comprehension and achievement in San Diego County secondary schools.”

–Taken from a press release from the Grossmont Union High School District.