ERIC Number: EJ1083800
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1072-0839
EISSN: N/A
Supporting Mathematics Instruction through Community
Amidon, Joel C.; Trevathan, Morgan L.
Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, v21 n5 p288-294 Dec 2015
Raising expectations is nothing new. Every iteration of standards elevates the expectations for what students should know and be able to do. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) is no exception, with standards for content and practice that move beyond memorization of traditional algorithms to "make sense of problems and persevere in solving them" (CCSSI 2010, p. 6). Additionally, "Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All" (NCTM 2014) establishes expectations for teachers that mirror CCSSM expectations for students. Increasingly, the expectation is for teachers to move away from disseminating facts through lecture-based classrooms to fostering a community of mathematical doers who work together on rich mathematical tasks. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) established the Equity Principle, which called for "high expectations and strong support for all students" (NCTM 2000, p. 12), but how are teachers being supported in this era of increasing expectations? This article describes a yearlong collaboration between a teacher (Morgan L. Trevathan) and a teacher educator (Joel C. Amidon) who explore what it means to provide support for mathematics teachers to improve practice, given the increased expectations and the plethora of external pressures (i.e., high-stakes testing and value-added assessments of teaching) toward a desired vision of mathematics instruction.
Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Teacher Collaboration, State Standards, Problem Solving, Teaching Methods, Communities of Practice, Mathematics Teachers, Professional Associations, Equal Education, Expectation, Teacher Educators, Instructional Improvement, High Stakes Tests, Value Added Models, Teacher Evaluation, Cooperative Learning, Middle School Students, Common Core State Standards
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. 1906 Association Drive, Reston, VA 20191-1502. Tel: 800-235-7566; Tel: 703-620-3702; Fax: 703-476-2970; e-mail: orders@nctm.org; Web site: http://www.nctm.org/publications/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A