In this article, I share a design-based research intervention meant to help mathematics district leaders build their capacity to engage with research quality. I present my design (i.e., principles, key features, and intervention structure) and elaborate on how the features of the design allowed for mathematics district leaders’ sensemaking of educational research quality, especially regarding the process for collecting data and research implications. I conclude with recommendations for mathematics teacher educators on how they might adapt my design to their contexts.
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Designing for Sensemaking of Research: The Mathematics District Leader Research Group
F. Paul Wonsavage
Exploring Prospective Teachers’ Development of the Cartesian Form of Complex Numbers
Gülseren Karagöz Akar, Merve Saraç, and Mervenur Belin
In this study, we investigated prospective secondary mathematics teachers’ development of a meaning for the Cartesian form of complex numbers by examining the roots of quadratic equations through quantitative reasoning. Data included transcripts of the two sessions of classroom teaching experiments prospective teachers participated in, written artifacts from these teaching sessions, and their answers to pre-and-post written assessment questions. Results point toward prospective teachers’ improved meanings regarding the definition of complex numbers and the algebraic and geometrical meanings of the Cartesian form of complex numbers. Implications for mathematics teacher education include providing specific tasks and strategies for strengthening the knowledge of prospective and in-service teachers.
Using a Practical Measure to Support Inquiry Into Professional Development Facilitation
Hannah Nieman, Kara Jackson, Michael Jarry-Shore, Hilda Borko, Elham Kazemi, Starlie Chinen, Anita Lenges, Zuhal Yilmaz, and Cara Haines
Despite the complexity of facilitating professional development (PD) and growing attention to supporting facilitators, few tools exist for facilitators to engage in ongoing inquiry into their practice. In this article, we offer a practical measure, the Collaborative Professional Development Survey (CPDS), designed to provide facilitators with information about teachers’ perceptions of aspects of the PD learning environment that research indicates matter for teachers’ opportunities to learn. We illustrate how facilitators used the CPDS to support their collective inquiry into facilitation. We also illustrate the social processes that appeared to enable facilitators’ productive use of the CPDS, including a routine to analyze the resulting data, and the orientations that underpinned their analysis. We discuss implications for facilitators’ use of the CPDS.
Developing Equity Literacy and Critical Statistical Literacy in Secondary Mathematics Preservice Teachers
Stephanie Casey and Andrew Ross
There is a lack of teacher education materials that develop equity literacy in content courses for preservice secondary mathematics teachers. In response, we created teacher education curriculum materials for introductory statistics that include an integrated focus on developing equity literacy and critical statistical literacy.
In this article, we provide an overview of our materials’ design along with a detailed look at one activity regarding racial demographics and tracking in high school STEM courses. We present evidence regarding the positive impact of these materials on the teacher candidates’ competency, value, and likelihood of applying their equity literacy and critical statistical literacy. Implications for mathematics teacher educators working to develop equity literacy together with content knowledge are discussed.
Puddle Play!
Deanna Pecaski McLennan
Guiding Questions for Selecting Mathematical Examples
Rachel B. Snider
Examples are an essential part of mathematics teaching and learning, used on a daily basis to teach and practice content. Yet, selecting good examples for teaching is complex and challenging. This article presents ideas to consider when selecting examples, drawn from a research study with algebra 2 teachers.
Call for Manuscripts: Connecting Research to Teaching: Bridging the Divide
Have you ever noticed a gap between research and practice? How can research effect change in the classroom? The Connecting Research to Teaching department of Mathematics Teacher (MT) invites classroom teachers to explore research findings in relation to their practice. MT also invites education researchers to demonstrate how results from their studies shape classroom practice. Findings from collaborative action research projects are also encouraged. Evidence of connections from research to practice commonly includes student work and brief transcripts from interviews or classroom videos.
Call for Manuscripts: Informing Practice
The Editorial Panel of Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School is seeking submissions for a department titled Informing Practice. The articles written for this section should entice and invite classroom teachers to learn about aspects of research that are closely related to their classroom practice.
Can Technology Help in Mathematical Assessments? A Review of Computer Aided Assessment of Mathematics
Peter Kloosterman and Tracey L. J. Warren
Computer Aided Assessment of Mathematics focuses on assessment in college mathematics courses with a special focus on computer-based assessment as a means of providing partial credit and immediate feedback on student work. Written by Chris Sangwin, a senior lecturer in mathematics at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, the book is an important resource for mathematicians or software developers interested in understanding the promise and the pitfalls of using computers to assess student work in college courses. Each chapter of the book addresses a different issue so readers have the option of reading most of them out of order or selecting the chapters that are most valuable to them. Thus, in addition to describing Sangwin's perspectives on teaching and assessing mathematics, this review is designed to help readers decide which chapters in the book will be useful to them.
The Relationship Between Teachers' Mathematical Content and Pedagogical Knowledge, Teachers' Perceptions, and Student Achievement
Patricia F. Campbell, Masako Nishio, Toni M. Smith, Lawrence M. Clark, Darcy L. Conant, Amber H. Rust, Jill Neumayer DePiper, Toya Jones Frank, Matthew J. Griffin, and Youyoung Choi
This study of early-career teachers identified a significant relationship between upper-elementary teachers' mathematical content knowledge and their students' mathematics achievement, after controlling for student- and teacher-level characteristics. Findings provide evidence of the relevance of teacher knowledge and perceptions for teacher preparation and professional development programs.
