Teaching Mathematics for Conceptual Understanding: Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices and the Role of Constraints

Author:
Bilge Yurekli University of Pittsburgh

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Mary Kay Stein University of Pittsburgh

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Richard Correnti University of Pittsburgh

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Zahid Kisa Florida State University

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Volume/Issue:
Volume 51: Issue 2
Page(s):
234–247
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc-2020-0021
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Keywords:
Constraints; Mathematics education; Teacher beliefs; Teacher practices

A major influence on mathematics teachers’ instruction is their beliefs. However, teachers’ instructional practices do not always neatly align with their beliefs because of factors perceived as constraints. The purpose of this article is to introduce a new approach for examining the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices, an approach that focuses on specific instructional practices that support the development of students’ conceptual understanding and on mismatches that occur between what teachers believe to be important and what they report actually doing in the classroom. We also examine the relationship between teachers’ self-reported constraints and mismatches between teachers’ beliefs and practices.

Contributor Notes

Bilge Yurekli, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, 3939 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; yureklib@pitt.edu

Mary Kay Stein, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, 3939 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; mkstein@pitt.edu

Richard Correnti, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, 3939 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; rcorrent@pitt.edu

Zahid Kisa, Learning System Institute, Florida State University, 2000 Levy Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32310; zahidkisa@gmail.com

(Corresponding author is Yurekli yureklib@pitt.edu)
(Corresponding author is Stein mkstein@pitt.edu)
(Corresponding author is Correnti rcorrent@pitt.edu)
(Corresponding author is Kisa zahidkisa@gmail.com)
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Copyright:
The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Inc. All rights reserved. 2020
Page Count:
14
Article Category:
Research Article
Received:
31 Jul 2018
Accepted:
12 Nov 2018
Print Publication Date:
01 Mar 2020
Online Publication Date:
Mar 2020
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