Math Science Partnership
About the Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania (SW PA MSP)
The Math Science Partnership of Southwest Pennsylvania (MSP) is one of seven comprehensive partnership projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 2003, and addresses both science and mathematics in Kindergarten through 12th grade. This grant project of the Math & Science Collaborative now includes 50 school districts, three institutions of higher education (IHEs), and three regional educational service agencies known as Intermediate Units (IUs). The NSF award supports 45 of the school districts, and a Math Science Partnership award from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) supports an additional 10. The MSP is managed by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU), the central IU representing the greatest density of school districts in the region. The region includes the periphery of the city of Pittsburgh, several smaller urban areas, suburbs and rural areas. Total enrollment in the MSP school districts is approximately 114,000 students, with approximately 3,800 teachers who teach math and/or science topics.
The National Science Foundation's Goals for MSP Programs
The National Science Foundation's MSP program seeks to improve student learning in mathematics and science. The program has four specific goals:
- provide a challenging curriculum for every student
- increase and sustain the number, quality and diversity of teachers of mathematics and science from kindergarten to grade 12 through further development of a professional education continuum
- contribute to the national capacity to engage in large-scale reform through participation in a network of researchers and practitioners
- engage the learning community in the knowledge base being developed in current and future NSF Centers for Learning and Teaching and Science of Learning Centers
Previous NSF programs targeting math and science education reform have had similar goals. However, the MSP program is notable in its requirement that higher education be included as a partner, playing a critical role in the K-12 education reform. Each Math Science Partnership must include one or more school districts and one or more higher education entities as core partners, with additional partners encouraged, but not required. Moreover, the MSP program expects full participation from mathematicians, scientists and engineers in this effort. The NSF also expects substantial institutional change to occur at both the K-12 and IHE levels, and plans to study partnership models to learn how partners' commitments result in institutional changes that will lead to scalability and sustainability. Click here to view the SW PA MSP Aims.
Model of Participation in SWPA MSP
District leadership teams engage in a strategic planning process beginning with analysis of such data sources as successful course completion rates and multiple measures of student achievement, and culminating in a district-based action plan.
After identifying strengths and weaknesses of their mathematics and science teaching and learning, teacher leaders are selected to attend research-based leadership academies, which are rooted in content, and focus on understanding the use of student thinking to support learning.
These leaders return to their districts with the tools needed to facilitate on-site professional development with the intent to create an intellectual community that values learning teachers, and sustains ongoing collegial discussions to improve student learning in mathematics and science.
View list of participants: school districts, institutions of higher education, Intermediate Units, and supporting partners
Opportunities Offered by the Math Science Partnership
There have been many professional development opportunities available to districts through the MSP, including the Lenses on Learning Seminars, Leadership Action Academies, Teacher Leadership Academies, Content Short Courses , Math and Science Seminars, and the Teacher Fellows program. For a full listing current events, dates and other information, visit our Professional Development Opportunities page.
MSP-Net
MSP-Net is an online resource which helps to increase the opportunities for collaboration of members within specific MSP programs and to connect to members in other MSPs. Features of MSP-Net include an online library, working groups, calendars and other resources. Please visit MSP-Net at http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm. If you are not already a member of the MSP-Net Hub, you can apply to join on the site and your request will be attended to as quickly as possible.
Assessment and Evaluation
The Assessment and Evaluation Team (AET) consists of a partnership of evaluators from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Education, the RAND Corporation and the AIU. The evaluation is designed to monitor annual progress in order to offer formative advice to the project, to measure its ultimate success in achieving its goals, and to document how well the model worked for the benefit of future initiatives that may seek to replicate it. The project evaluation addresses four research questions:
Have MSP partners developed and implemented a comprehensive intervention targeting math and science curriculum and achievement? If so, how?
Have institutional practices and support structures changed at K-12 districts and IHEs participating in the MSP? If so, how?
Has math and science instruction changed in K-12 districts participating in the MSP? If so, how?
In what ways have student outcomes and course taking changed in K-12 schools and districts implementing the MSP? If change occurred, what is the connection between implementation of the MSP plan and these changes?
Annually, the AET drafts a full report of their findings, including quantitative and qualitative data analysis. These reports are published as a part of the RAND Education working paper series.
View the MSP Year 4 Evaluation Report (2006-2007)
View the MSP Year 3 Evaluation Report (2005-2006)
View the MSP Year 2 Evaluation Report (2004-2005)
Members of the Assessment and Evaluation Team of the SW PA MSP include representatives from the University of Pittsburgh and the AIU.
MSP Cabinet and IHE Team
The MSP Cabinet is the governing and organizing body of the SW PA MSP. The Cabinet, which is meets monthly during the school year, consists of the program Principal Investigator Nancy Bunt, the leaders of the K-12, Mathematics, Science, Institutions of Higher Education, Assessment and Evaluation, and Budget and Finance Teams, as well as other representatives from IHEs, school districts, and the AIU. These individuals and teams report progress to the Cabinet, which in turn, shares information with the Steering Council. The primary duties of the Cabinet are: 1) to coordinate and monitor overall project planning, 2) to determine MSP budget and review financial data, 3) to monitor implementation and progress, making adjustments as necessary, and 4) to report progress to the MSC Steering Council and the National Science Foundation.
