Stein & Kaufman (2010)

Selecting and Supporting the Use of Mathematics Curricula at Scale

The article Selecting and Supporting the Use of Mathematics Curricula at Scale was written by Mary Kay Stein and Julia Kaufman and published in the American Educational Research Journal in 2010. The article is available from Sage Publications at http://aer.sagepub.com/content/47/3/663.

Abstract

This article begins to unravel the question, "What curricular materials work best under what kinds of conditions?" The authors address this question from the point of view of teachers and their ability to implement mathematics curricula that place varying demands and provide varying levels of support for their learning. Specifically, the authors focus on how teacher capacity (their level of education, experience, and knowledge) and their use of curriculum influence instruction. The study sample is 48 teachers implementing two standards-based mathematics curricula—Everyday Mathematics and Investigations—in two school districts. The data include interviews and surveys with teachers, as well as observations of instruction, over a 2-year period. Findings indicate that teachers' implementation of Investigations was considerably better than teachers' implementation of Everyday Mathematics in terms of maintaining high levels of cognitive demand, attention to student thinking, and mathematical reasoning. These implementation measures were not correlated to measures of teacher capacity across school districts. However, implementation measures were significantly correlated with teachers' lesson preparation that took into account the big mathematical ideas within curriculum. Further qualitative analysis indicated that the Investigations curriculum provided more support to teachers for locating and understanding the big mathematical ideas within lessons compared to Everyday Mathematics.

Outline of Headings

• High-Quality Implementation and the Factors That Shape It
  • What Constitutes a High-Quality Lesson?
  • What Factors Shape Implementation Quality?
• Methods
  • Setting
  • Data Sources
  • Analysis Procedures
• Results
  • Quality of Implementation
  • Teacher Capacity and Use of Curricula
  • The Relationship Between Implementation Quality and Variables Measuring Teacher Capacity and Use of Curriculum
  • The Relationship Between Curricular Materials and Teachers' Patterns of Use
• Summary and Conclusions

Also

APA

Stein, M. K., & Kaufman, J. H. (2010). Selecting and supporting the use of mathematics curricula at scale. American Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 663–693. doi:10.3102/0002831209361210

BibTeX

@article{Stein2010,
author = {Stein, Mary Kay and Kaufman, Julia H.},
doi = {10.3102/0002831209361210},
journal = {American Educational Research Journal},
keywords = {curriculum,educational reform,instructional practices,longitudinal studies,mathematics education,teacher knowledge},
number = {3},
pages = {663--693},
title = {{Selecting and supporting the use of mathematics curricula at scale}},
url = {http://aer.sagepub.com/content/47/3/663},
volume = {47},
year = {2010}
}