Carnegie Learning Wins Statewide Alaska Professional Development Program

University of Alaska Southeast and Federal Funding Deliver Professional Development Program for Math Teachers

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carnegie Learning, Inc., a leading publisher of research-based math curricula for middle school and high school students, announced today that the Company’s Bridge to Algebra software will be used as the core instructional curricula for the statewide training of middle school and secondary math teachers in the State of Alaska. The $360,000 program is a partnership among Carnegie Learning, the University of Alaska Southeast’s (UAS) School of Education, and seven school districts across Alaska.

“This program is particularly important in our small rural schools where teachers struggle to teach multiple subjects well.”

The first phase of the UAS/Carnegie Rural Alaska Math Teacher Development Program was launched last month and will serve teachers from 17 schools through the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The initiative is designed to provide training to teachers who are not certified as Highly Qualified in math, with the goal of increasing the math achievement of their students. The program combines Carnegie Learning’s Bridge to Algebra instructional courseware, the same Carnegie Learning software instruction the students receive in the classroom, with content-coaching for teachers provided by UAS math and education faculty.

“This first phase is a stepping stone to a larger initiative that we are optimistic will improve the teaching and learning of math across Alaska,” said Chip McMillan, Alaska’s Department of Education & Early Development Program Specialist. “This program is particularly important in our small rural schools where teachers struggle to teach multiple subjects well.”

The UAS/Carnegie Rural Alaska Math Teacher Development Program is funded from No Child Left Behind legislation that authorizes financing of higher education partnerships in each state to support Professional Development through K-16 partnerships. The program requires using practices grounded in scientifically based research so that students benefit from methods and practices that are known to work. Carnegie Learning is one of the only companies with mathematics curricula recognized as effective by the U.S. Department of Education.

“While Carnegie Learning is best known for our scientifically based math solutions for students, we also apply the cognitive psychology research behind our software and textbooks to Professional Development programs for teachers and administrators,” said Dennis Ciccone, Chief executive Office of Carnegie Learning, Inc. “As part of our commitment to improving the academic achievement of all students, we offer Developing Algebraic Thinking and Developing Mathematical Understanding programs for instructors to improve teacher quality and increase the number of highly qualified teachers serving our children.”

Carnegie Learning’s math curricula are based on more than two decades of cognitive science research at Carnegie Mellon University studying how students think, learn, and apply new knowledge in mathematics. The Cognitive Tutor® software was developed around an artificial intelligence model that identifies weaknesses in each individual’s mastery of mathematical concepts, customizes prompts to focus on areas where the student is struggling, and sends the student to new problems addressing those specific concepts. The instructor receives an assessment of each student’s progress on an ongoing basis, allowing students to receive more individualized teaching and learning.

About Carnegie Learning, Inc. (www.carnegielearning.com)

Carnegie Learning, Inc. is a leading publisher of core, full-year mathematics programs as well as supplemental intervention applications for middle school and high school students. The company's Cognitive Tutor® programs are helping more than 475,000 students in over 1300 school districts across the United States succeed in math by integrating interactive software sessions, text, and student-centered classroom lessons into a unique learning platform for algebra readiness, Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, high-stakes test preparation, and Integrated Math programs. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes Carnegie Learning’s Cognitive Tutor Algebra I program as one of only two math curricula scientifically proven to have significant, positive effects on student learning. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, Carnegie Learning was founded by cognitive science researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with veteran mathematics teachers.