Transforming Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation via a Networked Improvement Community

• In Event: Problem-Disciplined Practice-Based Inquiry for Improving Mathematics Teaching and Learning: Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycles as Tools for Improvement

Abstract

The U.S. faces a significant shortage of well-prepared secondary mathematics teachers, both in terms of quantity (cf. Ingersoll & Perda, 2010; Ingersoll, Merrill, & May, 2012) and quality of instruction (cf. Banilower et al., 2013). A national consortium of over 90 universities and 100 school systems was organized using the Networked Improvement Community (NIC) model (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow & LeMahieu, 2015) in order to meet its goal of transforming secondary mathematics teacher preparation. This paper reports on the activities of this NIC, focusing on the use of improvement cycles to design and successively refine innovations in its target areas.

The partnership undertook a two-year long process of understanding the problem space: developing guiding principles that underlie secondary mathematics teacher preparation (Author, 2014); identifying problem areas impeding progress towards the aim (Author, 2015); developing relevant literature reviews; and subsequently identifying possible improvements in those areas. This process lead to the formation of “Research Action Clusters” (RACs) focusing on five drivers supporting the NIC’s aim of increasing the number of secondary mathematics teacher candidates produced by the consortium and ensuring that candidates meet a threshold of quality. These five drivers are:
1) improving the content preparation of candidates in introductory mathematics classes using “active learning” strategies (Freeman et al., 2014);
2) producing modules or courses specifically aimed at developing mathematical knowledge for teaching (cf. Ball, Thames, & Phelps, 2008);
3) tracking the development of candidates’ mathematical knowledge using formative assessment;
4) improving clinical experiences, including new models for student teaching (Leatham & Peterson, 2010) as well as professional development for mentor teachers; and
5) developing marketing strategies to attract students to considering secondary mathematics teaching as a career.

In accordance with the NIC model, the activities of each RAC are based on principles of improvement science. A primary tool from improvement science used by the consortium is the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle, widely used across many fields (Bryk, Gomez, & Grunow, 2011). This improvement cycle is based on understanding the problem (plan), setting forth improvement hypotheses and testing an improvement protocol (do), measuring the effects of the improvement (study), and then making any necessary revisions (act). For example, the clinical experiences RAC is developing an alternative model in which student teachers are assigned in pairs. PDSA cycles are being used to successively refine the orientation materials for the student teachers, workshops for the cooperating teachers, debriefing protocols, and other aspects of the model

Finally, the consortium is organized as a network, another key aspect of NIC design (Bryk, Gomez, Grunow & LeMahieu, 2015), which accelerates the development, testing, and refinement of interventions and their effective integration into varied educational contexts. For example, the RAC working on clinical experiences is considering how aspects of the paired student teaching model performs in varying contexts. Moreover, the structure of the network allows them to pursue a “divide and conquer” approach in which subsets of teams can address different aspects of the improvement effort. Given its successes, the RAC has begun to recruit additional teams from the consortium, leveraging the network for scale up.

Authors

• W. Gary Martin, Auburn University

• Maria Lorelei Fernandez, Florida International University