Researchers’ Perspectives: Making a Case for Instruments that Focus on Equity

• In Event: Users and Uses: Multiple Perspectives on a Mathematics Education Classroom Observation Instrument

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate researchers’ need for classroom observation instruments that attend to equity and access. We use two existing instruments, the AR and the Mathematics Scan (M-Scan), to explore the different aspects of instruction highlighted with the different lenses.

Perspectives
In mathematics education research, there has been increased attention to issues of access and equity that has caused scrutiny about what is considered “good teaching” (e.g., Martin, 2015; Souto-Manning, 2019). However, this attention has not led to major changes in the design of classroom observation instruments that are used to research and discuss the quality of instruction (Author, 2022). In this paper, we make the case that there is a need for classroom observation instruments that attend to equity and access.

Data and Methods
Data from which this analysis was conducted included 39 video-recorded lessons selected from a larger set of 234 lessons from classrooms in grades 3-8. All videos were scored using the Mathematics Scan (M-Scan), a measure of standards-based mathematics teaching practices, and the AR. The 39 lessons were selected because they scored higher on the two M-Scan rubrics that centered on discourse: Mathematical Discourse Community (MDC) and Explanation and Justification (EJ). We chose three focal rubrics from the AR that also attended to practices made evident through verbal interactions. For the 39 lessons with high levels of discourse present, we analyze AR descriptive data, focusing on the range of scores on the three selected AR rubrics (names blinded for review), and describe qualitative differences in the learning opportunities and experiences for students participating in lessons that may be “rich” in terms of discourse but vary in terms AR practices.

Findings
Even though the 39 lessons selected for analysis were limited to the “discourse-rich” lessons, we found score variation across all three focal AR rubrics for these lessons. In addition, we found that the few lessons that also scored high on the AR provided interesting opportunities for various perspectives; opened space for students to draw from their own linguistic resources; and provided opportunities for more diverse forms of participation– aspects of instruction to which the M-Scan did not attend. The lessons that scored higher on AR rubrics also provided unique opportunities for students to make connections between the math being discussed and their own personal experiences, and to demonstrate strengths that are not often valued or present in math discussions.

Significance
Given our findings that convey crucial distinctions in what the AR and M-Scan measure and in the learning opportunities and experiences for students, we argue there is a need for researchers to attend more closely to instructional practices that aim for equity and access in the development, validation, and use of classroom observation instruments. Such instruments have potential in supporting researchers to generate stronger evidence of the effectiveness of specific practices that have been identified as critical for students who are currently marginalized and underserved.

Authors

• Jonee Wilson, University of Virginia

• Temple A. Walkowiak, North Carolina State University

• Anne Garrison Wilhelm, Southern Methodist University