Times-Journal Writer

There is little quiet time in DeAndres Inge’s classroom at Meadowview Elementary School. Students are often chatting with one another and playing games, but the fun is always centered around one topic: math.

“This whole hallway is never quiet,” Inge said Wednesday as she stood outside her classroom door. “When students are working on their projects, they can’t help but get excited about it.”

For the past two years, Meadowview has been using a different approach to teaching second- and third-graders.

The school adopted the Alabama Math Science and Technology Initiative created by the State Department of Education to improve math and science scores.

Though AMSTI is widely used among public schools in the northern half of the state, Meadowview is one of only a handful of schools using the program in this region.

Inge became a certified AMSTI presenter in 2001 and last summer conducted teacher workshops on the program for the University of North Alabama and University of Alabama Huntsville.

The new program works by dividing students into small groups and providing them with hands-on, problem-solving projects to complete.

“I start out using the textbooks to explain a math skill, then we work with puzzles or number cards or other activities that get these kids excited about what they are learning,” Inge said “It’s never boring and the students are learning skills at the same time.”

Inge said teaching math has changed since the time her student’s parents were in school.

These days, even elementary-level students are required not only to answer questions on tests, but also explain how they came to their conclusions.

“The students are now much more receptive then when they had to learn the material from textbooks,” Inge said. “I can really see the growth in the kids.”

The AMSTI also uses several literature-based projects in the classroom, in which students are required to read stories and apply the information from the books to math problems.

“With this AMSTI program, students are retaining what they learned the day before, and they are retaining what they learned last month and last year,” said Meadowview Principal Janis Stewart.

The school has seen a marked improvement in overall SAT scores since introducing the AMSTI program and students are now learning to think build upon the skills they have learned as they move up in grades.

Inge, who has 14 years of teaching experience, was recently named Who’s Who among America’s Teachers.

“Math is my passion and I love being able to come to school everyday and seeing the growth in my students,” Inge said.