The power of collaboration: How ENACT is transforming math education in Milwaukee

In Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), REL Midwest's ENgagement and Achievement through Computational Thinking (ENACT) partnership is transforming math instruction and learning through the power of collaboration. The partnership, which brings together the district's Career and Technical Education and Math departments, is dedicated to integrating computational thinking and student-focused practices into the sixth-grade math curriculum.

Computational thinking emphasizes problem solving and encourages students to explain their reasoning. Combined with student-focused instruction, computational thinking can enhance middle school students' engagement and confidence in math, fostering lifelong learning and success in STEM.^1,2,3 Through the ENACT partnership, REL Midwest provides sixth-grade math teachers at MPS with support and coaching to integrate computational thinking and student-focused practices into their teaching.

REL Midwest spoke with ENACT partners at MPS to gain insight into how the first two years of the partnership helped drive success for students and teachers in Milwaukee.

The genesis of a partnership

In 2022, MPS and REL Midwest formed the ENACT partnership out of a shared commitment to promote deep mathematical learning to close achievement gaps. Early in the partnership, MPS and REL Midwest co-developed a coaching series that featured computational thinking strategies and student-focused teaching practices, which built on a previous partnership supporting computer science instruction. As part of the co-development process, REL Midwest worked side-by-side with MPS district leaders in curriculum and instruction, math instruction, career and college readiness, and STEM and with district instructional coaches in math. The goal was to design an approach that aligned with the vision and values of MPS, met the district's current priorities, and was attentive to the importance of centering the voices of teachers and students in math learning.

As Lois A. Womack, the mathematics curriculum specialist at MPS, articulated: "We have a great partnership with REL Midwest. They have been very supportive of our vision and our goals, and they have been very respectful of our voice and our input. They have been very responsive to our feedback and our needs, and they have been very flexible and adaptable to our context and our challenges."

Antonio Rodriguez, STEM curriculum specialist at MPS, added: "We decided to work with [REL Midwest], and it was a great fit because they already know [us], they already know our goals, and they already knew our teachers and . . . because they have been in the classroom, they know our kids. It's important for us to have that kind of connection between somebody who's going to be observing our teachers and interacting with our kids."

This shared vision laid a solid foundation for the project's development and success.

In this video, ENACT partner Antonio Rodriguez describes the benefits of partnering with REL Midwest and what lies ahead for ENACT.

The collaboration at work

A defining feature of ENACT is the mutual commitment of project partners to ongoing, meaningful communication through frequent planned meetings and regular written updates to district partners. This proactive approach ensures that all partners are engaged from the outset, allowing for the identification and resolution of potential challenges before they become significant issues.

Laura Maly, a mathematics teacher leader at MPS, emphasized the importance of early and consistent collaboration between the district and REL Midwest: "It's always nice to be brought in on the front end before something rolls out so that we can really contribute and foresee potential obstacles and navigate around them. It's been a very collaborative, a very meaningful partnership."

An exciting part of ENACT's work to date is seeing positive changes for teachers and students. Maly shared a compelling story about a math teacher who experienced a resurgence of enthusiasm:

"I think the top of the list would be seeing a teacher who was, frankly, pretty burned out, getting excited about a project and being willing to try new things. Just a year or two ago, she would have never been willing to do these things. The support and confidence she received through the project have had a significant impact. This project has the potential to change many lives, and recognizing the positive impact on our teachers is truly exciting."

Rodriguez also has seen a positive change in classrooms implementing the ENACT approach: "We started with four teachers and we learned a lot, especially from one of them saying that she was not comfortable teaching math. . . . And then after the first day of the training, she changed her attitude towards teaching math . . . and said, 'I wanted to thank you for including me and pushing me to do this because now I really feel comfortable teaching math.' And just because of that comment, I decided we should do [the ENACT project] again with other teachers. And we ended up going for a second year with eight teachers [in the project]."

This renewed enthusiasm among MPS educators underscores the transformative potential of the ENACT partnership and the collaborative efforts behind it.

Reflecting on the influence of ENACT, Rodriguez shared: "What excites me the most is the way teachers are approaching how to solve the problems in different ways. . . . I think it's a better way because our teachers are making sure that the kids know exactly how to solve a problem using their own skills."

Sustaining collaboration

As the partnership continues to expand the ENACT approach across all middle schools in the MPS district, it faces both challenges and opportunities. For example, Womack emphasizes the importance of integrating ENACT teaching strategies seamlessly into the existing curriculum:

"For me, continuing to make sure that teachers and administrators understand that [ENACT] is not an add-on is crucial. As a district, we are rounding out the textbook adoption process, so it's important that this project is seen as an integral part of the curriculum, not something additional on top of what's already being done."

Another challenge is maintaining robust communication and engagement, both between MPS teachers and district leaders and between MPS and REL Midwest as the project scales. Maly points out:

"As we scale up, we need to think about how to sustain these communication efforts and ensure we get the participation we need. The more people we get on board, the more support we'll have in encouraging teachers to engage and implement the project effectively."

Looking ahead

The scaling of the ENACT approach district-wide exemplifies the power of collaboration in driving educational innovation. The first cohort of ENACT teachers included four volunteer teachers from two schools in MPS. In its second year, the partnership scaled up to include six additional teachers. Now, in the partnership's third year, the ENACT team aims to support up to half of the district's sixth-grade math teachers and the remaining half of sixth-grade teachers the following year. This scaling of ENACT in the third year will allow REL Midwest to assess the impact of the ENACT approach on teachers' knowledge of computational thinking practices as well as on students' self-efficacy and motivation in math and on their academic test scores and grades.

By aligning goals, fostering open communication, and providing dedicated support, the partnership between MPS and REL Midwest aims to improve all students' confidence, engagement, and achievement in math. As ENACT continues to evolve, the ongoing commitment of all partners will help advance the partnership's long-term ability to achieve its goals.

Related resources

The ENACT partnership has resources that outline strategies for integrating computational thinking and student-focused teaching practices in existing math curricula to support middle school students' engagement and achievement.

• Blog post: ENACT teachers learn new ways of aligning instructional strategies to students' needs
• Blog post: Inspiring Milwaukee students to be lifelong STEM learners
• Infographic: Middle School Math is an Important Bridge to Lifelong STEM Learning and Success
• Documentary: Math Mindset: Transforming the Middle School Math Experience
• Blog post: ENACTing change: Partnering with Milwaukee Public Schools to encourage computational thinking
• Blog post: Applying computational thinking to boost student engagement in middle school math