Insights Into Opportunities and Challenges for Mathematics Instructional Improvement in Turnaround Systems

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: Improving Instructional Systems and Practices

Abstract

Shifts in mathematics standards and assessments emphasize deeper conceptual learning for students. Consequently, educators need to reorganize beliefs about student learning, develop inquiry-based pedagogies, and engender equitable dispositions for all students. In the face of challenges common in turnaround settings, how can leaders create an instructional infrastructure to support teachers in developing new practices? In a multi-year, mixed-methods study of the Shelby County iZone, survey findings indicate system success in developing instructional patterns high in attention to concepts, but low in opportunities for student struggle. Qualitative analyses describe mechanisms potentially explaining the survey findings, including the tension between system infrastructure promoting ambitious teaching and internal/external factors that limit its impact, such as a prevalent norm of teaching for procedural accuracy.

Authors

• Adrian Mohamed Larbi-Cherif, Manhattan Strategy Group

• Richard James Correnti, University of Pittsburgh

• James E. Taylor, Self-employed

• Joshua L. Glazer, The George Washington University