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Rockhurst High School and St. Teresa’s Academy collaborated to host the first ever Exeter Mathematics Institute in Kansas City, MO this past summer.

Two different workshops occurred. Rockhurst hosted the first from July 17th through 21st and St. Teresa’s Academy hosted the second from August 1st through 4th.

A total of 45 teachers from 23 zipcodes engaged in rigorous problem-based learning math training for 24 hours over the course of four days - and that’s not including the time spent on homework!



Teachers from the Phillips Exeter Academy traveled to Kansas City and guided area math teachers through their problem-based curriculum. While struggling with this problems, teachers were reminded of what it feels like to be a math student. The problem solving process was emphasized more than the answer and the value of rich and authentic problems was emphasized to each teacher.

IMPACT


Empathy


Teachers often commented about the value in remembering what it felt like to struggle with mathematics.



Process over Solution


When other math teachers explained their problem solving process to the rest of the class, teachers cherished the reminder that looking at problems through a different lens and solving through different means can lead to deeper learning.



Resources


Teachers walked away with all of the the Phillips Exeter Academy problem sets and answer keys. More importantly, they were equipped with the confidence to be able to implement a problem-based curriculum. St. Teresa Academy’s geometry teachers decided to completely overhaul their approach as a result of this workshop.



Networking


Believe it or not, sometimes it’s lonely being a math teacher! However, spending time with other teachers actually solving math problems is a great way to make friends. The first session concluded on Thursday at 3:30pm. After cleaning up the classrooms, I returned to the Rockhurst student commons to find the teachers below as happy as can be. Look at the time in the background!


Rockhurst High School graduates “Men for Others”. By providing opportunities to enhance the skills of our own teachers as well as improve the skills of other area mathematics teachers, then Rockhurst will model for its students by being a “School for Others”. Hopefully, Rockhurst will be able to provide further Exeter Mathematics Institutes in the future as well as explore other ways in which Rockhurst can serve the Greater Kansas City Area.


AMDG

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