Session Information
24 SES 10, Teacher Knowledge & Teacher Education
Paper Session
Time:
2009-09-30
14:45-16:15
Room:
NIG, HS III
Chair:
Tansy Hardy
Contribution
Algebra Cubed is an educational outreach project of the University of Kentucky, sponsored by the (U.S.) National Science Foundation to promote educational interactions between secondary school teachers and doctoral students from what is often referred to as the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. This engagement is expected to impact both content and pedagogy knowledge of teachers as well as both cognitive and affective domains of students. Each year of the three years of the project, ten doctoral students from the STEM fields are recruited and trained as fellows to go to work with teachers and students in two middle schools and two high schools.
Each fellow is paired with a mentor teacher who is teaching algebra to middle or high school students. Fellows are both assistants who help mentor teachers prepare and implement algebra lessons and colleagues who use their solid mathematical knowledge and pedagogical training to influence mentor teachers’ understanding of content and pedagogy of algebra. Meanwhile, fellows interact with students of their mentor teachers through such activities as answering questions in class, tutoring students after class, and offering homework assistance. Each fellow is required to spend at least one day each week in a designated school. We have engineered this rich interaction of fellows with both teachers and students to promote teachers’ teaching and students’ learning in algebra classes. Can interaction of this nature in mathematics classroom really improve teachers’ understanding of content and pedagogy as well as attitude and achievement of students?
For the teacher component, Algebra Cubed is designed based on the premise of the theoretical framework of Wenger’s (1998) “community of practice” defined as “shared histories of learning” with a focus on learning as social participation and interaction (p. 86). Central to this framework is the regular professional interaction among members of a professional community that promotes constant reflection on content knowledge and classroom practice as well as constant renegotiation of what it really means to teach algebra. For the student component, Algebra Cubed is designed based on the premise of the theoretical framework of role models within a larger social learning theory (Bandura, 1977). Central to this framework is the conception that significant others inspire and motivate students to pursue higher educational and occupational goals.
Method
We worked with 20 mathematics teachers who taught algebra to more than 1000 students. We employed a quasi-experimental design to examine the impact of Algebra Cubed on the teaching of teachers and the learning of students. We used a pre-test and post-test design to measure gains of teachers in their mathematical knowledge for teaching, and we designed a survey questionnaire to measure changes (through pre-survey and post-survey) in their pedagogical understanding of critical issues in mathematics education. We used a pre-test and post-test design to measure gains of students in their algebraic knowledge, and we designed a survey questionnaire to measure changes (through pre-survey and post-survey) in their attitude toward mathematics (in particular attitude toward learning algebra). We present in this paper analytical results from the first 2 years of evaluative data (we are currently in the 3rd and last year of this project).
Expected Outcomes
There is no significant improvement in algebra knowledge for teaching among teachers. Algebra Cubed has (a) significantly increased its teachers’ belief that communication in a math class is different from that among mathematicians and significantly increased its teachers’ emphasis on (a) use of technological aids for the learning of algebra and (b) conceptual understanding in algebra.
There is significant improvement in algebra achievement among students. Algebra Cubed has significantly decreased its students’ beliefs that (a) doing mathematics often makes me nervous or upset and (b) algebra is the most interesting math subject. Algebra Cubed has significantly increased its students’ beliefs that (a) it is important to know mathematics to get a good job, (b) as long as you remember the rules, you can solve algebra problems easily, (c) algebra is mostly about problem solving, and (d) algebra is connected with other math subjects.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 27, 191-215. Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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