May 2014
Texas Graduate Center Monthly
txgradcenter.org
Texas Graduate Center’s Harvard Program continues to grow as plans for Cohort III take shape
txgradcenter.org
Texas Graduate Center impacts school districts across the RGV
T
he Texas Graduate Center (TGC) is proud to be serving ten school districts across the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) with their Harvard Math for teaching program. The masters program, geared towards RGV mathematics teachers, is delivered through distance learning along with summer residency at Harvard University. The goal of the program is to improve middle and high school student performance in mathematics by empowering local teachers with a world-class Harvard education. The TGC is currently in the process of forming Cohort III and already five new districts have agreed to sponsor teachers for the Spring 2015 semester, including Mission, Donna, and Edcouch Elsa.
La Joya teacher Queen Martin instructs her students on mathematical concepts.
May 2014
Cohort II completes first semester at the TGC
C
ohort II wrapped up review homework and prepare their first semester for the upcoming lecture. They as Harvard graduate also scheduled additional study students this month. The time offsite to tackle the rigor of the course new group of material. eight teachers “The course joined the “From the first class day I that we Texas Graduate have seen how my newlytook was Center in gained knowledge applies challenging, J a n u a r y , to my students and will y e t 2014. They truly change my classroom manageable,” completed said Homer Math E-16 forever.” Colunga, Mathematics - Homer Colunga, Cohort II Cohort II and the Greeks, Harvard masters student student and the first class mathematics of their threeyear program. The dedicated teacher as Weslaco ISD. cohort met once a week at the “Classmates and I regularly met TGC for a live lecture and would outside of class to get the work often arrive two hours before done. This is the beauty of the their scheduled class time to cohort model, working together
Cohort II students collaborate on classwork during a study session at the Texas Graduate Center.
for a common goal, success,” said Colunga. “We never let each other down,” he continued, “and we worked together every step of the way. Whether it was late nights in the library or in one of our kitchen’s, we stuck together to ensure that each cohort member knew the
material inside and out.” The camaraderie established will continue as the cohort prepares for their summer residency in Cambridge, MA. They will join Cohort I at Harvard University to complete two summer courses before returning for the Fall semester at the TGC.
TGC Partners with La Joya ISD to provide math camp for girls
T
TEKS and STAAR Objectives from the 6th grade mathematics curriculum.
GC Harvard Masters students and Rio Grande Valley mathematics teachers, Diana Garcia, Queen Martin, and Crystal Chagoya will begin working on curriculum for a new summer program geared towards improving girls’ math performance. GEM, Girls Engaged in Mathematics, is set to launch in La Joya ISD on July 7, 2014. The program was created by TGC’s Executive Director, Dr. Mary Alice
Reyes. The goal of the program is to improve c o m p r e h e n s i o n , performance, and overall confidence in mathematics for girls in middle school by focusing on both content and confidence building skills. “Some girls tend to be more timid when it comes to [math] class participation,” said Chagoya, a mathematics teacher at La Joya ISD. “I think we need to focus on our future generation of
Apply math knowledge to purposeful tasks focused on college readiness and STEM career connections.
To create a math-minded CAMP culture designed to build girls’ confidence and skill in mathematics
girls because we need to empower them to dominate more in critical areas such as math and engineering,” Chagoya said. GEM CAMP activities will focus on five main areas: Number, Operation & Quantitative Reasoning; Patterns, Relationships & Algebraic Thinking; Geometry & Spatial Reasoning; Measurements; and Probability & Statistics. “Students need to learn the conceptual basis of Mathematics,” added Martin, also a mathematics teacher at La Joya ISD. “Until then, our students will only be good at passing standardized tests and not lifelong learners. Modern tools and gadgets should only be used as a resource, not to replace student thinking.”
txgradcenter.org
Student Feature:
Reynaldo Jope
T
exas Graduate Center Scholar and Harvard masters student, Rey Jope, recently published his first children’s book, “Feyesper and the Rogue Kite.” The book centers on a young pink fairy armadillo named Feyesper who learns to work together with his friends to keep their kite from snapping loose. Jope began writing the book in 2002. After his father’s passing in 2012, Jope felt like it was time for the book to be released, “Writing is the way I hold on to my parents memory. I have to write whatever it is they taught me” said Jope. Jope is also a mathematics teacher at Achieve Early College High School in McAllen, TX. “Feyesper and the Rogue Kite” is the first book in Jope’s Feyesper series. TGC: What is Feyesper and the Rogue Kite about? Jope: The first book is about flying kites. The kite suddenly becomes rouge, but it’s not rogue, it’s just the nature of the kite. The wind was picking up, the yarn is about to snap! And what do you do to keep it from snapping? The message to the kids is to know when to tug, know when to release, and know when to just hold on. And isn’t that what relationships are all about? You cannot just pull, pull. Sometimes you have to hold on, because it belongs to you, but sometimes you have to just give in or else the yarn will snap! TGC: Your title character has a unique name. How did you come up with the name Feyesper? Jope: My mother was the light of my poverty-stricken home in the Philippines. To me, she was faith and hope personified.
In Spanish, faith and hope is fe y esperanza. Fuse the Spanish words together, minus the -anza, and you’ll get Feyesper’s name. My mom is the personification of faith and hope for me. Despite our condition she was the most positive person. The way my mom is, that’s the way I teach inside my classroom. TGC: Tell us about the unique set of autosophic questions in the book. Jope: I was curious, ‘what does my book offer that other books don’t have?’ I realized in a few of them there are comprehension questions, but anyone can come up with a comprehension question. The most important thing a child can get from a children’s book right away is the moral of the story. But there is nothing there that helps the parent’s bring it out. So I designed a set of questions, and every book of mine will have them, called autosophics. I coined
Coming Soon to the Texas Graduate Center: Exploding Dots! Masters of Petroleum Engineering in partnership with TGC
contact:
Adriana Lopez 956.903.4231
Presented by Dr. James Tanton Mathematician in Residence - Mathematical Association of America Region One November 14, 2014
the word autosophics, auto means self and sophics from the word Sophia, which means wisdom. TGC: How has the book been received? Jope: I did the reading in the library for the first time and I thought I was gonna lose the kids. I’m reading it for the first time, and I got scared, that I’m going to find out soon if my book is a failure or not. I found out the kids were with me the whole time! I got to the last question, ‘What would you tell people, what would you advise them if you wanted them to fly the kite successfully?’ - something to that effect. I thought they were going to give me the literal meaning of the kite. But the kids were still with me! They said, ‘we have to be nice to each other,’ I was going to explode there [from happiness]. So I knew there was an audience for this book.
Texas Graduate Center Executive Director:
Dr. Mary Alice Reyes mareyes@tvcof.org
Associate Director:
Adriana Lopez alopez@tvcof.org