Elementary Mathematics Specialists: Relationships Between Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, and Instructional Practices

• In Event: The Work of Elementary Mathematics Specialists: Findings From the STEAM Project

Abstract

Purpose. In this poster, we will share insights related to another primary research question from the BLINDED project: to investigate differences between EMS teachers and their peers. Specifically, we investigate relationships between EMS status, mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT), beliefs and attitudes related to mathematics teaching and learning, and teaching practice.

Theoretical Framework. Consistent with Ernest’s theoretical framework (1989), the literature shows that effective mathematics teaching at the elementary level is related to knowledge and beliefs (e.g., Campbell et al., 2014; Hill et al., 2008). EMS programs can successfully develop the kinds of beliefs and knowledge that are related to instructional practice (Campbell & Malkus, 2014; Swars et al., 2018). However, relationships between knowledge, beliefs and practice are complex and often inconsistent. By exploring the role of beliefs, knowledge, practices, we hope to disentangle some of these complex relationships.

Methods. Participants included EMS certified teachers (n=28) and a group of comparison teachers (n=33) in the state of [BLINDED]. We administered the Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) instrument to evaluate teachers’ knowledge for teaching mathematics (Schilling et al., 2007) and a survey to measure their beliefs and attitude towards mathematics learning and teaching (White et al., 2005/2006). We also observed each teacher three times based on a classroom learning environment observation protocol (Tarr et al., 2013) that was adapted for use in elementary classrooms. This protocol documented practices such as providing opportunities for students to explore mathematical conjectures, share and provide justifications for multiple solution strategies, and engage with connections between multiple mathematical representations. We used exploratory factor analysis to condense beliefs and attitudes into four factors (mathematics learning involves constructing ideas, mathematics is mostly about computation, confidence regarding doing mathematics, and security with regard to teaching mathematics), and also to condense the eight indicators of teaching practice into a single variable. We conducted path analysis using multiple regression analyses to explore interrelations between variables. From the results, significant paths were retained, and the parsimonious path model was evaluated in terms of goodness of fit. In addition, based on the results of path analysis, indirect effects between variables were estimated.

Results. After running multiple regression models to examine the relationships between observation scores and other variables, we found EMS status, LMT scores, and the two beliefs scales (Constructing and Computation) significantly predicted observation scores. The results of the path analysis showed that there were two primary paths through which EMS status influenced instructional practice. The first path was through mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and then through the Constructing Belief. The second path was through the Computation belief.

Significance. These findings align with prior research about the influence of teacher beliefs and knowledge on instructional practices (Leatham 2006) and extends our knowledge by specifying two paths by which this influence may occur.

Authors

• James E. Tarr, Saginaw Valley State University

• Sheunghyun Yeo, The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa