Two Professional Honors .. April 01 2014

In January the Early Math Collaborative was recognized by two independent sources for its innovation in early math education. Opening Minds USA announced that the Collaborative was among its top ten finalists for its Innovation Award. Additionally, a film created in collaboration with Davidson Films using the Collaborative's approach received the prestigious CINDY Award for producing "programming that achieves the highest levels of excellence in production value and message effectiveness."

Each year Opening Minds USA presents its Innovation Award to a "game changer" in the field of early childhood education. The Collaborative and principal investigator Dr. Jie-Qi Chen are among the finalists for the 2014 award. Attendees of the Opening Minds conference hosted by the Chicago Metro Association for the Education of Young Children can vote during the conference on January 30 and 31, with the winner announced during an awards ceremony the evening of January 31.

"We always enjoy attending the Opening Minds conference every year," said Chen. "It is wonderful to be among those nominated as innovators in the early education field."

The CINDY is an industry award presented by the International Association of Audio Visual Communications. The film, entitled Building Mathematical Competencies in Early Childhood,provides "the WHY's, WHAT's, and HOW's of including rich, developmentally appropriate mathematics experiences for young children in pre-kindergarten classrooms."

"With the growing attention to the importance of pre-k education," said Davidson Films owner Fran Davidson, "we expect that this film will continue to introduce teachers to the importance and pleasure of providing young children with meaningful mathematical concepts."

The film is currently being used in both college level courses and in-service professional development programs. You can view an excerpt of the video on the Early Math Collaborative website. Article by Cody Meirick.