The latest of many efforts by California State University, Hayward to improve math instruction is under way as teachers from schools throughout the Bay Area begin a new master's degree program in mathematics.

Cal State Hayward math professors are encouraged by the response from K-12 school districts to the university's first courses in its new master of science degree in mathematics.

"Math teachers want and need all the support they can get," said CSUH assistant math professor Kevin Callahan. "This program will introduce them to new content, the state's new standards, and the use of technology and the Internet in teaching math."

Callahan and colleague Kathy Hann concluded that since high school math teachers are required to take professional development units to retain their credential, they could take advantage of the CSUH program and earn a graduate degree in their field.

For many teachers, the master's degree could also mean an increase in salary, Callahan said.

Teachers taking two classes a quarter could earn a master's degree in two years. The first courses in the new program offered this fall are Geometry for Teachers, Analysis for Teachers, and Mathematics in the Sciences.

For more information, contact the CSUH Math Department at (510) 885-3414.

Cal State Hayward also supports a number of other efforts to improve math instruction and learning:

• This summer, high school students can take math classes by video tape or on the university's CableNet television station. The courses are College Algebra and Preparation for Math Placement Exams
  
  
• Cal State Hayward has 18 of its students working as aides to high school math teachers under the Pre-Collegiate Academic Development Program.
  
  
• University professors are working with instructors from Chabot College and Tennyson High School to improve math scores there under the California Academic and Professional Partnership program.
  
  
• The GET Math Program gives future teachers training and experience by working directly with mathematicians and tutoring high school math students.
  
  
• A free two-week MEGA Summer Math Camp held at the university for girls entering junior high includes a field trip to the NASA Ames Aerospace Encounter.
  
  
• As many as 100 students a quarter have taken the Math for Elementary School Teachers CSUH extension course in Oakland, offered to teachers and credential candidates.