Michael PearsonMathematical Association of America

Cite as: Pearson, M., (2010). Professional Associations: Creating Pathways for Innovation. Presented at the Workshop on Disseminating CCLI Innovations: Arlington, VA, February 18-19, 2010.Unless otherwise specified this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/)

A non-profit organization seeking to further a particular profession

An organization whose members share a common profession, brought together to further the interests of individuals engaged in that profession

A standards-establishing, certification, or accrediting body for individuals or programs

Publications (journals, books, electronic) Meetings (national, regional and/or focusing

on special themes) Professional development (workshops,

formal and informal networking) Public policy (advocacy efforts) Public awareness Awards Consulting and/or accrediting teams

Members of profession view themselves as community of peers

Leadership usually semi-democratic, but also meritocratic, subject to lots of discipline-specific dynamics (no such thing as a non-political disciplinary association)

Track record of consistently conservative behavior that doesn’t stray too far from broad consensus of what is mainstream

Planned periodic reviews (e.g. curriculum guidelines) and data collection processes

Members/leaders bring ideas forward (formal and informal processes)

Interaction with government agencies/policy makers (NSF, congress, etc.)

Interaction with other associations (formal umbrella groups, networking—e.g. DSEA)

Identifying (and perhaps cultivating) expertise in variety of domains

Establishing groups built around particular themes to identify innovations/innovators

Bringing innovations to attention of broader audience (print, meetings, web)

Building consensus (surveys, focus groups, dissemination strategies)—but takes time!

Disciplinary societies exist to serve membership

Strategies must be collegial, not preachy or coercive

Position association as ready to help meet needs of constituents (sometimes individual, sometimes department)

Can we “package” innovation to lower barriers to implementation? May mean not always reaching for excellence in every classroom!

New technologies changing way we communicate and work

Better data on large-scale level providing clearer view of need to adjust educational efforts

Pressure from external constituencies (leading to changes in accreditation requirements!)

Potential for associations to serve as clearing houses

Bring together innovators to share and refine

Strategic recognition of leading innovators Package materials for adoption and

implementation Partnerships with NSF

Cite as: Pearson, M., (2010). Professional Associations: Creating Pathways for Innovation. Presented at the Workshop on Disseminating CCLI Innovations: Arlington, VA, February 18-19, 2010.

Unless otherwise specified this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/)