We like to think it's exciting and fun, so I'm glad it comes across that way.  We get quite a bit of "let's do this again" type of feedback and this is one measure of success.  We also get, "that was tough, but I learned so much".  In this particular project, there is a research component so we also have more official means of measuring the effects.  We are looking at the change in teachers' own use of Mathematical Habits of Mind (aka Mathematical Practices) when they approach problems and we are hoping to see a change in their teaching practice that offers more opportunity for students to learn and engage in these same habits.  for more information, please visit mistas.edc.org and share this opportunity with anyone you think might be interested. :-)

This is also a scale up of a previous project called eCMI. In that project, we reported on a statistically significant change in teachers' use of mathematical habits of mind, using the survey Matt is referencing. If you want to read more about that, see our article in the Mathematics Teacher.

One key piece of feedback has been that participating in this form of professional learning is that the online component is significantly enhanced by having access to a live facilitator and in-person partners at the site. These supports make persevering at the challenge of an immersive mathematics experience easier.

I think one other piece of feedback from participants is that they appreciate having opportunities to speak to teachers from across the country. Given that they have this common experience, participants can also talk about common and distinct struggles and successes in their own classrooms. We are working to provide spaces to make that easier.

Hi Karen.  I agree totally with your comment that "doing mathematics" should be part of every PD experience.  

If you read Miriam's reply to Nadine Bonda's comment, she shares a few of the pieces of feedback we have gotten about the combination of working both face-to-face and online.  We recognize there are advantages and disadvantages to both types of presentation and we think we have a pretty good model to bridge the two, but we are always working to improve it.

Hi. We don't really have a time frame per se.  Our idea of immersion is that mathematics teachers are being immersed in mathematics because they are engaged in doing mathematics, for the sake of exploring and discovering "new" (to them) mathematics and building or developing practices that allow them to approach a problem or topic they have not previously encountered.  The unique structure of the problem sets and the style of facilitation combine to make this such a powerful experience and these are both discussed in a meta-cognitive way so that (we hope and hypothesize) it has a positive effect on the participants' classroom teaching practices.

I think it's also worth noting that our group has been involved with this kind of mathematics experience for teachers for years (some folks for decades) and many of these models have been intensive, take several in person weeks, and are expensive to attend. These models are a wonderful way to do this work, but can be limiting for teachers who cannot travel to the physical location or do not have access to the necessary funds. One of the strengths of this online model is that it can expand these opportunities to participants across the country in their home locations at a low cost. We believe that each of these models provides its own value, but hope that this can broaden access to this kind of professional learning.