Capturing Early-Career Teachers' Enactment of Ambitious Mathematics Practice at Scale

• In Event: Beginning Mathematics Teaching

Abstract

Objectives
This longitudinal study examines how the knowledge and norms of members in Early Career Teachers’ (ECTs) school-based social networks affect their response to increased expectations associated with implementing the Common Core mathematics standards (CCSSO, 2010) and teacher evaluation. In this paper, we define and operationalize ambitious mathematics practice, and describe the processes undergone during the first year to capture ambitious mathematical planning and instruction at scale.

Theoretical framework
From literature about ambitious practice (Lampert et al., 2010; Cobb & Jackson, 2011), we define planning ambitious mathematics instruction as setting appropriate learning goals, developing and/or modifying tasks at appropriate levels of cognitive demand, and anticipating students’ thinking. We define enacting ambitious mathematics instruction as implementing tasks while maintaining cognitive demand to achieve lesson goals.

Methods & data sources
This longitudinal study relies on mixed methods (Creswell, 2014). Approximately 50 ECTs participated this year (2014-2015). In year two, we anticipate a sample of 150 ECTs. We administered surveys to learn how teachers utilize resources, conceptualize instruction, and engage with colleagues. Further, we measured planning through lesson plan artifacts and ECT interviews. Finally, we observed ECTs mathematics instruction.

Results
Capturing Planning. Initial analysis of written plans found many teachers’ planning resembles a timeline; that is, ECTs briefly noted each activity with the anticipated time allotment. In Spring 2015, we began using interviews conducted immediately after observations to collect richer data about lesson planning practices. Preliminary analysis of the interview data suggests that the school-based norms for standards and curriculum use greatly influences ECTs’ planning.

Capturing Enacted Practice. Fall 2014 observation work used the IQA observation tool (Resnick, Matsumara & Junker, 2006), with a multi-disciplinary team of 10 trained observers. After one month of using the IQA in a variety of different sites, many issues surfaced, including: (1) scores highly dependent on teachers’ task set-up, and (2) poor fit with lesson designs outside the “launch-explore-summary” sequence.

For Spring 2015 observations, we chose a different observation tool that has been a better fit for the elementary classroom and our interdisciplinary team - TRU Math (Schoenfeld & Floden, 2014). Using TRU Math, we can rate the extent to which ECTs:
• teach using tasks that build conceptual knowledge as well as procedural understanding
• support students’ productive struggle with cognitively demanding tasks
• build upon students’ thinking by engaging them in discussions about their mathematical ideas

In particular, the parsimonious nature of TRU Math’s rubrics makes it a viable tool to be used for a project of our scope. By definition, ratings distill something very complex into something very discrete in a large-scale project.

Significance
Much of the existing work on ambitious practice has been small scale. While such work is deep and nuanced, little is known about how instructional norms influence both planning and practice particularly for ECTs. This project will illuminate the benefits of a mixed methods approach to capture the complexity in measuring and analyzing both planning and instructional practices of ECTs at scale.

Authors

• Serena Jean Salloum, Ball State University

• Shannon P. Sweeny, Michigan State University

• Kaitlin T Torphy, Michigan State University

• John L. Lane, Michigan State University

• Kristen Bieda, Michigan State University