Teacher Agency in Using Mathematics Curriculum Materials to Plan Instruction

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 4
  In Poster Session: Mathematics Education Research Poster Session 1

Abstract

NCTM’s Standards call for teachers to be responsive to student thinking. However, several factors can constrain teachers’ choices about how to implement mathematics curriculum materials (CMs) in ways that limit their responsiveness to students. I use the construct of teacher agency to examine how and why teachers make decisions as they plan using CMs and to understand what factors affect their sense of agency over decisions that are responsive to students. Results suggest teachers feel the least agency over the choice of which CMs to use, and that increases in knowledge about their CMs seems to support teacher agency and thus also support responsiveness to students.

Author

• Kathryn Rich, Michigan State University