AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF JENNIFER JENSEN PRUSACZYK, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, presented on APRIL 7, 2011, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONNECTIONS TO PRE K-8 TEACHERS' DESCRIPTIONS OF GOOD TEACHING, GOOD STUDENT BEHAVIOR, AND TEACHING FOR UNDERSTANDING: A MIXED METHODS STUDY MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. D. John McIntyre A mixed methods study design was used to investigate the relationship between elementary teachers' epistemology, as measured by the Learning Context Questionnaire (Griffith & Chapman, 1982) and teachers' descriptions of good teaching, good student behaviors, and teaching for understanding. Teachers' (N = 36) descriptions were collected after they had participated in a three-year professional development program designed to assist teachers in listening to and using students' thinking. The descriptions were open coded, following the recommendations of Corbin and Strauss (1990). Each set of descriptions was coded independently. Nine emergent themes support study request one: List three things a [Pre] K- 8 teacher should do to teach mathematics for understanding. Eight emergent themes support study request two: List three things a good mathematics teacher usually does. Six emergent themes support study request three: List three things a good mathematics student usually does. This study is not a study of practice, but rather a study of the language used to describe something of value and the relationship of that language with personal epistemology. Findings indicate that based on teachers' descriptions, 75% of the teachers exhibit an awareness of reform based teaching strategies, 61% of the teachers exhibit an intention to provide reform based learning opportunities while only 44% of the teachers exhibit reform based expectations of students. Based on this sample, little support for the connection between epistemology and teachers' descriptions emerged. Furthermore, this sample exhibited no connection between general epistemology and years of teaching experience. The observation that some teachers exhibit a higher Measure of Coherence is an unexpected finding of this study and provides a foundation for future research.

A number of recent efforts to improve mathematics instruction have focused on professional development activities designed to promote changes in teachers' practice that are consistent with the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM]. Since teacher beliefs can have a significant influence on what teachers do in their classroom, this study investigated the impact of an alternative form of professional teacher development designed to impact both general and personal teacher efficacy beliefs toward the use of Standards-based mathematics. A professional teacher development study group [PDSG] was formed that consisted of a facilitator/participant and six elementary teachers who were interested in improving their mathematics instruction. The group met over a period of six months in eight sessions to examine their own mathematical thinking and beliefs as well as the mathematical thinking of children. Results indicated that general and personal teacher efficacy changed in a positive direction toward the use of Standards-based mathematics. These results suggest that the implementation of mathematics reform may be facilitated when teachers have the opportunity to engage in a PDSG specifically designed to attend to teacher efficacy beliefs and support positive changes in those beliefs.

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This paper draws on data gathered from a large-scale, multi-year research project, Curriculum Implementation in Intermediate Mathematics (CIIM), that examines the implementation of a reform (inquiry-oriented) mathematics curriculum in Grades 7 – 10 in Ontario, Canada. To describe classroom practices and ways that teachers have been challenged and supported in implementing an inquiry-oriented approach, the data included teacher questionnaires (n =1096), focus group interviews with mathematics educators across the province, and nine case studies. While some of our data align with the research of others who show that teacher change is complex and inquiry-oriented pedagogies are slow to emerge (Frykholm, 1999; Jacobs, Hiebert, Givven, Hollingsworth, Garnier, & Wearne, 2006), we also have evidence of teachers engaged in a variety of classroom practices that involve students in inquiry-oriented mathematics learning.

No description available.

This study followed three elementary-school teachers as they engaged in online discussions about inquiry-based mathematics teaching, and wrote and tested inquiry lessons for their own classrooms. In an inquiry lesson, students bring their own knowledge to open-ended problem situations, and build on that knowledge as they try out solutions and share their ideas with others. Evidence from the study suggests that teachers may turn to inquiry as an antidote to the way they learned about mathematics as schoolchildren, and that participating in an online community is a way for teachers to gain new mathematical and pedagogical knowledge and to change their conceptual understanding of inquiry-based teaching. The study results indicate that online professional development can help teachers improve their practice, but that care must be taken to build social ties within the group, and to structure tasks in a way that encourages collaboration and constructive criticism.

This study followed three elementary-school teachers as they engaged in online discussions about inquiry-based mathematics teaching, and wrote and tested inquiry lessons for their own classrooms. In an inquiry lesson, students bring their own knowledge to open-ended problem situations, and build on that knowledge as they try out solutions and share their ideas with others. Evidence from the study suggests that teachers may turn to inquiry as an antidote to the way they learned about mathematics as schoolchildren, and that participating in an online community is a way for teachers to gain new mathematical and pedagogical knowledge and to change their conceptual understanding of inquiry-based teaching. The study results indicate that online professional development can help teachers improve their practice, but that care must be taken to build social ties within the group, and to structure tasks in a way that encourages collaboration and constructive criticism.