About M2T2
Mathematics Materials for Tomorrow's Teachers (M2T2) are a set of mathematics modules created in the spring of 2000 by a team consisting of teachers, administrators, university researchers, mathematicians, graduate students, and members of the Illinois State Board of Education. The modules are for use by trained "teachers of teachers," most often from Illinois's Regional Offices of Education, to use for in-service with mathematics teachers around the state.
They are five modules. Each module is connected to one of the goals for mathematics in the Illinois Learning Standards. The content is at a middle school level.
The M2T2 materials were developed under the direction of the Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (MSTE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It was our goal to create modules that are interesting, mathematically rich, challenging, and appropriate for students and teachers in the middle grades. We have also worked to connect these modules to the Illinois Learning Standards for mathematics with a special view toward preparation for the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).
We encourage you to consider the following points as you work with students and teachers with these materials.
- There is a creative tension between the reform-based, standards-based approaches to mathematics education and a standardized test like the ISAT. These materials seek to illustrate the concepts and advocate approaches in line with the Illinois Learning Standards. Using them in the way in which they were intended is the responsibility of the teachers with support of their administrators.
- These materials focus on in-depth understanding of a few concepts in mathematics and are not intended to cover a broad range of topics.
- Instruction in preparation for exams is a continuous process that is spread throughout the year. The materials discussed are not intended to be a single review session for the ISAT exams.
- We welcome comments and suggestions for improving these materials. Please send your comments to the Webmaster.