Intel Math - a course for K-8 math teachers

I just found out about this and I do find it interesting: Intel is committing a large sum of money to train K-8 teachers to teach math. They're planning to train 100,000 math and science teachers.

Now, this "Intel Math" course is not about computers or technology; it really is about math. According to the flyer,

"Intel Math is an eighty-hour course for K-8 teachers who teach math. The course is co-facilitated by a practicing mathematician and a math educator. The emphasis is on teachers deepening their understanding of math. Intel Math examines the arithmetic, geometric and algebraic aspects of: operations, number theory, place value, rates, rational numbers, linear equations and functions through problem solving."

This course will be available at no cost to school districts. It is part of president Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign (see press release). A bit more information is found at www.inspiredbyeducation.com.

That is a step in the right direction. I have always felt that the BEST step to improve the state of math education in schools is to improve the teachers' knowledge of math, and not just to write new curricula or new standards. Those can help too, I'm not saying they won't. But a good teacher can override the influence of a mediocre curriculum - and a teacher that doesn't know math can make a good math curriculum go to waste.

Hat Tip goes to Wild About Math blog.