An Inductive, Mixed Method Approach to Describing "Optimal" Curriculum Implementation

• In Event: Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Posters About Mixed Methods Research

Abstract

A mixed-method case study was conducted to describe “optimal implementation” of the Everyday Mathematics (EM) curriculum within one mid-sized school district. Classroom observations and interviews gathered data on the instructional practices and background experience of ten teachers in the district that were already identified their principals as providing exemplary mathematics instruction. While the teachers demonstrated considerable variability, their instruction was characteristically high in facilitation of cognitive demand. The interview data provides clues into potential key influences, pointing to a common experience of “early struggle” mitigated by mentor colleagues and a desire for continued learning. More research is needed to test an emerging hypothesis that cognitively demanding work, their common denominator, is the “key ingredient” to student success with EM.

Authors

• Amy E. Cassata, University of Chicago

• Jeanne Century, University of Chicago