Self-Regulatory Teaching Strategies and Motivation Among Mathematics Teachers Working in High-Poverty Urban Schools

• In Event: I Know I Can: Teacher Agency, Motivation, and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Mathematics teachers working in high-poverty urban schools are more likely to engage in teaching practices that do not align with the recommendations of NCTM for constructivist-informed teaching. To understand the barriers that mathematics teachers encounter in high-poverty schools to implement and sustain constructivist-informed teaching, authors interviewed 24 mathematics teachers working in a high-poverty urban district. This study extends those findings by examining the interviews through a self-regulatory teaching framework to identify the strategies teachers use to overcome barriers. Current findings elucidate how mathematics teachers maintain positive motivational beliefs, regulate their instruction, and seek help to sustain constructivist-informed teaching. Findings can inform professional development programs about ways to better prepare mathematics teachers to sustain constructivist-informed teaching at high-poverty urban schools.

Authors

• Danya Marie Corkin, University of Houston - Downtown

• Stephanie Coleman, University of Houston - Downtown

• Adem Ekmekci, Rice University