“It Doesn’t Look the Way I Expected”: Fostering Teacher Agency Through Big Ideas in Mathematics

• In Event: Geometry, Spatial Reasoning, and Teaching "Big Ideas"

Abstract

This paper explores teachers’ learning of a big ideas approach to mathematics, as recommended by the California Mathematics Framework, which aims to improve mathematics instruction for all students. We analyzed teacher interviews and written reflections from professional development designed to support elementary teachers in developing an understanding of and organizing their instruction around the big ideas for their grade level. Preliminary findings show that teachers: (1) conceptualized mathematics as a set of broader, connected concepts rather than a list of methods, and (2) cultivated agency in their instructional planning, embracing uncertainty as they tried new tasks and encouraging students to do the same. Teachers’ cultivation of agency and comfort with uncertainty offer important theoretical contributions to mathematics teacher learning.

Authors

• Miriam Simone Leshin, University of Virginia

• Megan Selbach-Allen, Stanford University

• Marjorie M. Hahn, Stanford University

• Jo Boaler, Stanford University