Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
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Item The Culture Beyond the Content: Does an “Overcoming Testimony” Empower Effective Urban Mathematics Teachers to Reach their Students?(2021) Smith, John Franklin; Wiseman, Donna L; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)“Do effective mathematics teachers with under-performing classes in urban settings possess cultural characteristics making them more effective than others?” This study evaluates the personal histories and beliefs of twelve qualifying middle school mathematics teachers to determine the role experiences and beliefs play in how teachers transform challenging classes into relatively high achievers. Effective is defined as recommended by their principals, coupled with demonstrated growth through public data of the state’s PARCC* assessment. Urban is defined as schools having close proximity to a major U.S. city, comprised of over 80% minority student populations and over 60% FARMS** recipients. Based on the literature and anecdotal evidence, a conceptual framework called the “overcoming testimony”- missionary zeal, community bonding, legacy, activist ideology and guardian angel - was designed to evaluate interview data. An interview protocol was administered and the interviews were videotaped and transcribed for further study. The impact of the teachers’ personal histories on their current practices was assessed using a coding system as the transcripts were evaluated. The results showed strong alignment with Fives and Buehl’s (2012) findings whereby beliefs “filter, frame and guide” decision-making. Beliefs and experiences filtered pedagogical choices and methods. The “overcoming testimony” elements framed their resiliency and commitment to their students’ welfare. Views on culture and content guided the teachers toward creating learning environments that promoted achievement. The data demonstrated an emerging community-bonding dynamic between African-American teachers and their Hispanic students. The results indicate effective teachers may succeed in part due to negative experiences they endured as students. I argue that based on the prevalence of beliefs and experiences evident in the interviews, these perspectives serve as a cultural lens enabling teachers to effectively engage grade-level mathematics students to demonstrate proficiency on state assessments. Without this lens, content mastery alone could be insufficient to the task.”*The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers **Free and Reduced MealsItem UNDERSTANDING HOW PRESERVICE TEACHERS USE FOCUSING QUESTIONING STRUCTURES: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY(2019) Nolan, Edward Charles; Walkoe, Janet; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The study explores how five secondary mathematics preservice teachers use questioning structures as they develop understanding of how to teach. Teacher questioning impacts the degree of student thinking during solving problems, specifically selecting focusing over funneling questioning structures (Herbel-Eisenmann & Breyfogle, 2005; Wood, 1998). Questioning structures are investigated as the participants plan a lesson, practice it to their peers, and then teach it to high school students. As these preservice teachers explore this lesson over most of a semester, a rich analysis of questioning is developed through planning, practicing, and teaching the lesson. Investigation includes how participants elicit and interpret student thinking and how their responses either focused on the thinking of students or funneled students to the thinking of teachers. The research questions of this study are: • Do preservice teachers use focus and funnel questioning structures as they elicit, interpret, and respond to student thinking and, if so, how do they use them? • In what ways does preservice teachers’ use of focus and funnel questioning structures change through the plan-practice-teach cycle? Data for the study include an initial peer rehearsal activity; draft and final lesson plans; reflections on experiences with planning, peers, and students; and transcripts of peer rehearsals and interviews with each participant at the end of the study. Analysis of the data explored the types of questions asked and questioning structures used, how the preservice teachers used questioning to privilege or minimize the role of student thinking, and how flexible the preservice teachers were in asking questions, be they planned or extemporaneous. While each of the participants stated the goal of creating student-centered learning environments, they varied widely in their ability to privilege student thinking. Some reasons for the differences in these abilities are explored. The study demonstrated four potential areas of future research in regard to teacher preparation: preservice teachers need help to learn about and use focusing questioning structures; opportunities may need to allow preservice teachers to address and overcome their current beliefs; preservice teachers need support to effectively elicit, interpret, and respond to student thinking; and peer practice needs specific structures to be effective.Item The Relationship Between Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge and The Mathematics Achievement of Students in Grades Four and Five(2014) Palmer, Jana Eileen; Koziol, Steven; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between teacher mathematical knowledge (content and pedagogy) and the mathematics achievement of students in grades four and five. This study used a quantitative approach using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). Through a quantitative study based upon a teacher assessment of mathematics content and pedagogy and a student assessment entitled the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), the researcher measured the teachers' mathematical content knowledge, mathematical pedagogy knowledge, and analyzed the data to determine if there was a relationship between teacher knowledge and student achievement. The assessments were based on the Maryland state curricular standards. All teachers involved in the study were considered generalists at the elementary level. Student achievement was measured through MAP. Through the use of the teacher knowledge assessment, the study provided valuable data that could be used to inform colleges providing training to pre-service teachers, principals, supervisors, and those providing professional development to elementary teachers. Additionally, the study could be used to inform teacher education and education policy efforts intended to strengthen and support teacher quality while improving the achievement of students in mathematics.Item WIDGETS AND DIGITS: A STUDY OF NOVICE MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS ATTENDING TO MATHEMATICS IDENTITY IN PRACTICE(2013) Frank, Toya Jones; Clark, Lawrence M; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This is a study of novice middle-school mathematics teachers' attention to mathematics identity guided by three primary goals: (a) to understand how they were conceptualizing mathematics identity, (b) to investigate how they attended to mathematics identity in practice, and (c) to glean an understanding of the forces that they saw as influential in attending to mathematics identity. I explored how these teachers conceptualized mathematics identity and attended to it across four dimensions: ability, importance, motivation, and the nature of mathematical tasks. I used a metaphor of interlocking gears to represent how these four dimensions were interrelated. While each practicing novice teacher (PNT) conceptualized mathematics identity differently, they all viewed it through an ability lens, meaning their attention to mathematics identity was predicated upon how they positioned students as mathematically competent or incompetent. I used qualitative methods to highlight the perspectives and practices of three PNTs novice teachers who participated in an alternative certification program that prepared teachers to teach in a district with a long, documented history of low student achievement. I used Engeström's (1987, 1999, 2001) activity theory to explore how the elements of the teachers' activity systems promoted or impeded their attention to mathematics identity. I highlighted salient themes across all PNTs in a cross-case analysis. The teachers in the study attended to mathematics identity in various ways. I categorized these tools in three ways: (a) attention to mathematics identity via instruction, (b) attention to mathematics identity via planning, and (c) an emergent sociopolitical stance. I used the cases to provide illustrative examples of what attending to mathematics identity in each category looked like in practice. Across all of the PNTs, the rules at multiple levels (classroom, school, and district) that governed their activity systems were similar in nature. Their test-driven (Valli, Croninger, Chambliss, Graeber, & Buese, 2008) contexts shaped instructional decisions. At the classroom level, classroom management also proved to be a force that either supported or impeded the PNTs' attention to mathematics identity in practice. With the findings and analysis in mind, I present implications for teacher education, data collection, and theoretical considerations.Item A STUDY OF TEACHER CONCERNS ON THE INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY WITH MATHEMATICS CONTENT AND PEDAGOGY(2012) Collette, Sherwin Anthony; Edwards, Ann R.; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this research was to study teachers' changes in concerns as they integrate technology with their content and pedagogy. By analyzing the Stages of Concerns Questionnaire (SoCQ) at the beginning and end of this professional development cycle, this study analyzed changes in teacher concerns about the integration of technology, pedagogy, and content in their mathematics teaching and learning program as a result of participating in specific professional development. Results of the t-tests comparing pre and post-survey data indicated that significant differences were found between February and May for Stages 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. No significant differences were found at Stage 6, the stage where participants have ideas about how to change or alter the reform initiative. Concern profiles were generated and analyzed for all participants, whole-school implementation participants, and partial-school implementation participants for February and May. Profiles reflected shifts in concerns over time. A major area of concern that evolved over time was an increase in management concerns. Profiles reflected low concerns about the impact to students.Item The Impact of Curriculum Focal Points on State Mathematics Standards(2009) Vennebush, George Patrick; Campbell, Patricia; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)State mathematics standards from six states were analyzed to determine the impact of Curriculum Focal Points on recent revisions. The standards were analyzed to determine the alignment between the state documents and Curriculum Focal Points. In particular, a comparison of the framework used in each state standards document was compared to the framework used in Curriculum Focal Points, and the content within the state mathematics standards, as represented by the grade level expectations for Grade 5, was compared to the content within Curriculum Focal Points. The results were used to compare state standards for consistency between one another and to determine what changes, if any, had occurred from standards developed prior to the release of Curriculum Focal Points to standards developed after the release of Curriculum Focal Points.Item A Case Study: Change Facilitator Activity to Support the Implementation of a District's Pre-K-12 Aligned Mathematics Program(2008-05-05) Kubic, Kathryn Leigh; Mawhinney, Hanne; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT James County Public Schools was a 74,000 student school district in Maryland that chose to implement a pre-K - 12 aligned mathematics program in response to state mandated assessments imposed by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation. Schools that fail to demonstrate Adequate Yearly Progress on these assessments may descend into a spiral of sanctions. Consequently, districts must choose and implement programs that will increase student achievement. This study sought to determine the characteristics of the pre-K - 12 aligned mathematics program and explore and describe the dynamics of its implementation through the lens of a change facilitator. The study used a case study design methodology. The findings revealed the district implemented four parts of an instructional component: district assessments, pacing guides, professional development, and a single text adoption program. The change facilitator undertook activities to support the implementation. The study found three positive results of the implementation: Creation of Student Support Courses, Creation of a Benchmark Data System, and Creation of a University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Cohort. When the pace of the implementation was analyzed, conflict surrounded the implementation and it yielded three negative results: Competition for Scarce Resources, Defensive Professional Development, Trail of Memos, and Professional Blunders. The findings of this study added to the research and literature on implementation, particularly the role of the change facilitator. The findings also will assist other districts in policy and practice as they too seek to implement new instructional programs in their efforts to comply with the demands of NCLB.