Teacher Practice

Improving Student Learning and Teacher Practice in Mathematics: A Focus on Formative Assessment

Assessment
Classroom Practice
Learning Progression
Professional Development
Teacher Practice
Elementary School
Middle School
STEM Categorization
Math
Day
Thu

Join a discussion with panelists from several projects about project model designs, initial findings, and implementation challenges associated with formative assessment in mathematics.

Date/Time
-
Presenters
Alison Castro Superfine
Jere Confrey
Edward Silver
Jonathan Supovitz
Session Materials
IFAST Algebra.pdf

In this session, four projects will share their work on formative assessment and mathematics learning trajectories, and participants will discuss the implications for formative assessment practices in mathematics.

Session Types
Concurrent Session

Professional Development Approaches to Strengthen Collaboration among Educators with Different Roles to Improve Student Math Learning

Multilingual Learners
Equity
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Professional Development
Special Education
Teacher Practice
Elementary School
Middle School
STEM Categorization
Math
Day
Thu

Discuss the benefits and challenges of creating mathematics professional development that brings together educators with different roles to build knowledge, practices, and collaboration for teaching students with diverse needs.

Date/Time
-
Presenters
Amy Brodesky
Mark Driscoll
Pam Buffington
Session Materials
PD to Promote Math Learning.pdf

In order to broaden the participation of underrepresented student groups, such as students with disabilities and English Language Learners (ELL), mathematics professional development (PD) programs need to include educators with different areas of expertise, not just mathematics teachers. This session will focus on the benefits and challenges of creating effective PD programs that bring together educators with different roles to build knowledge, practices, and collaboration for improving the mathematics learning of all students.

Session Types
Concurrent Session

Problematizing and Assessing Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Ways of Thinking

Algebra
Assessment
Calculus
Classroom Practice
Curriculum
Disciplinary Content Knowledge
Learning Progression
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Professional Development
Teacher Practice
Middle School
High School
Post-secondary
Activity
Curriculum
STEM Categorization
Math
Day
Thu

Engage with presenters as they discuss assessment and rubrics designed to measure secondary teachers’ mathematical habits of mind.

Date/Time
-
Presenters
Kevin Moore
Jason Silverman
Sarah Sword
Session Materials
Problematizing and Assessing Secondary Mathematics Teaching.pdf

Work in secondary mathematics education takes many approaches to content, pedagogy, professional development and assessment. This session aims to illuminate the richness of hte content of secondary mathematics and the field of secondary mathematics education by sharing two such approaches and reflecting on the differences and commonalities between the two.   

Session Types
Concurrent Session

Perspectives on Solution Diversity and Divergent Thinking in K–12 Engineering Design Learning Experiences

21st Century Skills
Assessment
Classroom Practice
Curriculum
Educational Technology
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Professional Development
Teacher Practice
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
Activity
Curriculum
Software
Website
STEM Categorization
Engineering
Math
Day
Thu

Consider multiple approaches to valuing, supporting, and studying the diversity of students’ solutions to design problems through poster presentations and small-group discussion.

Date/Time
-
Presenters
Jennifer Chiu
Christine Cunningham
Ethan Danahy
Chris Rogers
Kristen Wendell
Richard Lehrer
Megan Wongkamalasai
Session Materials
Solution Diversity and Engineering.pdf
Solution Diversity and Engineering Handout.pdf
Virtual Poster Hall

“Solution diversity” has been proposed as one key characteristic that distinguishes engineering design from other disciplinary pursuits. Engineering designers recognize that for any design problem, there will be multiple acceptable solutions, and informed designers have been found to strive for “idea fluency” through divergent thinking techniques that assist them in exploring the design space (Crismond & Adams, 2012).

Session Types
Concurrent Session

On the Design and Implementation of Practical Measures to Support Instructional Improvement at Scale

Assessment
Classroom Practice
Professional Development
Scale-Up
Teacher Practice
Middle School
High School
Network
STEM Categorization
Science
Math
Day
Thu

Learn about two efforts to design and implement practical measures of science and mathematics teaching to inform school and district instructional improvement efforts.

Date/Time
-
Presenters
Kara Jackson
Jessica Thompson
Session Materials
Instructional Improvement at Scale.pdf

In contrast to evaluative research that uses accountability measures, improvement science research (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow, & LeMahieu, 2015), using practical measures is designed to provide practitioners with frequent, rapid feedback that enables them to assess and adjust instruction during the process of implementation. The resulting data is potentially of use to multiple stakeholders. For example, practical measures can orient teachers to attend to key aspects of the classroom that might be invisible to them.

Session Types
Concurrent Session
References

Bryk, A. S., Gomez, L. M., Grunow, A., & LeMahieu, P. (2015). Learning to improve: How America's schools can get better at getting better.
       Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Yeager, D., Bryk, A. S., Muhich, J., Hausman, H., & Morales, L. (2013). Practical measurement. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
       Teaching. Stanford, CA.

Kara Jackson, Jessica Thompson

Elementary Mathematical Writing Task Force Recommendations: Implications for Research and Classroom Implementation

Discourse
Implementation
Research
Teacher Practice
Elementary School
STEM Categorization
Math
Day
Thu

Learn about types of and purposes for elementary mathematical writing, and discuss implications for research and classroom implementation.

Date/Time
-
Presenters
Tutita Casa
Janine Firmender
Session Materials
Math Writing Task Force.pdf
View The Task Force Recommendations Website

Although the mathematics education community long has emphasized the importance of discourse in teaching and learning mathematics, mathematical writing has not been clearly defined. Questions remain about how writing can leverage elementary students’ learning of mathematics. In October 2015, the Elementary Mathematical Writing Task Force came together and recommended four types of writing (exploratory, informative/explanatory, argumentative, and mathematically creative) and their respective purposes.

Session Types
Concurrent Session

Instrumental development of teachers’ reasoning in dynamic geometry

Cyberlearning
Discourse
Educational Technology
Geometry
Teacher Practice
High

Alqahtani, M. M., & Powell, A. B. (2015, March). Instrumental development of teachers’ reasoning in dynamic geometry. Paper presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

Access Link
http://cadrek12.org/sites/default/files/webform/Alqahtani%20%26%20Powell%20%282…
Author/Presenter

Muteb M. Alqahtani

Arthur B. Powell

Lead Organization(s)
Rutgers University (RU)
Year
2015
Short Description

To contribute to understanding how teachers can develop geometrical understanding, we report on the discursive development of teachers’ geometrical reasoning through instrument appropriation while collaborating in an online dynamic geometry environment (DGE). Using the theory of instrument-mediated activity, we analysis the discourse and DGE actions of a group of middle and high school mathematics teachers who participated in a semester-long, professional development course. Working in small teams, they collaborated to solve geometric problems. Our results show that as teachers appropriate DGE artifacts and transform its components into instruments, they develop their geometrical knowledge and reasoning in dynamic geometry. Our study contributes to a broad understanding of how teachers develop mathematical knowledge for teaching.

Teachers’ support of students’ instrumentation in a collaborative, dynamic geometry environment

Discourse
Geometry
Teacher Practice
High

Alqahtani, M. M., & Powell, A. B. (2015). Teachers’ support of students’ instrumentation in a collaborative, dynamic geometry environment. In N. Amado & S. Carreira (Eds.), Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Technology in Mathematics Teaching. (pp. 268-276). Faro, Portugal: Universidade do Algarve.

Access Link
http://cadrek12.org/sites/default/files/webform/Alqahtani%20%26%20Powell%20%282…
Author/Presenter

Muteb M. Alqahtani

Arthur B. Powell

Lead Organization(s)
Rutgers University (RU)
Year
2015
Short Description

We report on a case study that seeks to understand how teachers’ pedagogical interventions influence students’ instrumentation and mathematical reasoning in a collaborative, dynamic geometry environment. A high school teacher engaged a class of students in the Virtual Math Teams with GeoGebra environment (VMTwG) to solve geometrical tasks. The VMTwG allows users to share both GeoGebra and chat windows to engage in joint problem solving. Our analysis of the teacher’s implementation and students’ interactions in VMTwG shows that his instrumental orchestration (Trouche, 2004, 2005) supported students’ instrumentation (Rabardel & Beguin, 2005) and shaped their movement between empirical explorations and deductive justifications. This study contributes to understanding the interplay between a teacher’s instrumental orchestration and students’ instrumentation and movement towards more deductive justifications.

Mathematics Curriculum, Teacher Professionalism, and Supporting Policies in Korea and the United States: Summary of a Workshop

Curriculum
Mathematics
Professional Development
Teacher Practice
Pre-K
Elementary
Middle
High

On July 15-17, 2012 the United States National Commission on Mathematics Instruction and Seoul National University held a joint Korea-U.S. workshop on Mathematics Teaching and Curriculum. The workshop was organized to address questions and issues related to math teaching and curriculum that were generated by each country, including the following: What are the main concerns in the development of the curriculum? What issues have been discussed or debated among curriculum developers, teachers, teacher educators, and scholars regarding the curriculum?

Access Link
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/21753/mathematics-curriculum-teacher-professionalism…
Author/Presenter

Ana Ferreras

Cathy Kessel

Myong-Hi Kim

Lead Organization(s)
National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
Year
2015
Short Description

On July 15-17, 2012 the United States National Commission on Mathematics Instruction and Seoul National University held a joint Korea-U.S. workshop on Mathematics Teaching and Curriculum. The workshop was organized to address questions and issues related to math teaching and curriculum that were generated by each country. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at the workshop.

Why a Digital Teacher Guide?

Biology
Classroom Practice
Curriculum
Educational Technology
Science
Technology
Teacher Practice
High

Inquiry-based educative curricula and teachers who use these curricula as intended are major factors in achieving successful student learning outcomes in science. Educative curricula can also bring about significant change in teacher practice. Educative curricula are generally accompanied by carefully designed print teacher guides that facilitate the implementation of curricula, encourage new instructional strategies, and accommodate curriculum modifications while retaining fidelity to the developers’ content sequencing and pedagogy.

Author/Presenter

Jacqueline S. Miller

Katherine F. Paget

Lead Organization(s)
Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
Year
2016
Short Description

An electronic teacher guide (eTG) was developed to determine whether a digital guide could better support teachers in implementing an inquiry-based curriculum and in enhancing their practice. Developed as a proof-of-concept exemplar, features of the eTG support high school teachers in planning, implementing, and modifying innovative instructional materials and in developing more ambitious teaching practices.

Resource(s)
WhyDigital.pdf
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