Barriers to Quality Early Mathematics Teaching and Learning

Growing evidence demonstrates that early mathematics teaching and learning experiences, among all educational resources, are especially important contributors to students’ learning and later achievement in mathematics and other areas, particularly in low-SES students who are at risk of falling behind in mathematics achievement. As early mathematics education has assumed heightened importance, quality of early mathematics teaching and learning experiences has attracted national attention, and the pressure to perform in mathematics has trickled down to preschoolers and kindergarteners. How can nations make sure their citizens are equipped with the necessary math skills and knowledge in order to be competent and productive members of society? Committing to equipping every student with high-quality early math learning experiences is undeniably a tall order and an impossible task if it is not approached as being a nationwide issue

Quality of Math Instruction Matters: Examining Validity and Reliability of High Impact Strategies in Early Mathematics (his-Em)

The purpose of this study is to introduce a measure of early mathematics teaching practices, the High Impact Strategies in Early Mathematics (HIS-EM) and its framework, and to examine its criterion-related, predictive validity of High Impact Strategies in Early Mathematics (HIS-EM) and describe the types of early math teaching the HIS-EM detects among a sample of Pre-kindergarten to 3rd grade teachers working with high need students in an urban public schools system. The findings indicate that the HIS-EM produced reliable scores, and meaningful and predictable associations were found between HIS-EM and CLASS. The results also suggested that high quality mathematics as measured by HIS-EM significantly predicted students’ mathematics learning at the classroom level. Further, despite the existence of learning standards and increased curricular attention to mathematics, results also revealed that majority of the the early childhood educators tend not to provide high quality of mathematics instruction during the course of mathematics teaching. Overall this study shows that the HIS-EM holds promise as a useful tool in mathematics education research, measuring indicators of quality of early mathematics teaching practices

Building Family Partnerships in a Catholic School by Connecting After-School and Home with Mathematics

Parents need guidance, support, and motivation to learn how to support their young children’s mathematical development in ways that are more foundational and effective. In Addition After School Math Program serves twenty-four students in grades 3, 4, and 5 and their parents in an urban neighborhood at a Catholic elementary school. In In-Addition After School Math Program, we see families as partners and build our after-school program around supporting mathematics thinking and discoveries by engaging the whole family

The impact of the quality of early mathematics instruction on mathematics achievement outcomes

The examination of teaching quality in mathematics in relation to student learning outcomes has become increasingly important following the research reports indicating that early mathematics teaching and learning experiences are critical contributors to students’ learning and later achievement in mathematics and other content areas. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the quality of early mathematics instruction and students’ mathematics learning outcomes in 73 Pre-K to 3rd grade classrooms in an urban public schools system. The results suggested that the quality mathematics instruction varies across observed classrooms but mostly mediocre. Limited but significant associations between instructional quality and mathematics achievement were also documented at the classroom level. More specifically, there was a positive significant interaction between quality of mathematics teaching and students’ mathematics achievement at the end of the school year in classrooms where ratings of the instructional quality was identified as “high,” after controlling for students’ pre-test scores and gender

Symbolic Boundaries and the Clinical Preparation of Teacher Candidates

The purpose of this essay is to make sense of the two divides in the clinical preparation of teacher candidates: (1) between professional knowledge and skilled practice, and (2) between university-based courses and school-based field experiences. This essay extends the work of Lamont and Molnár (2002) to conceptualize symbolic boundaries related to these two divides. Within this framework, a review of the research highlights three main implications. First, teacher education programs need to design teaching and learning experiences that allow teacher candidates to use the professional knowledge they have gained through their university courses across multiple educational settings. Second, such collaborative efforts, we argue, would help bridge the institutions’ approaches to teaching and learning and, therefore, send a more consistent message to teacher candidates about what constitutes professional knowledge and skilled practice in teaching. Third, a rapid and dramatic shift to online learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic highlights these divides even further and pushes universities and PK-12 schools to reevaluate how teachers and teacher candidates are developing professional knowledge and skilled practice. Using symbolic boundaries as a framework for understanding existing divides – divides that are likely to shift and change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic – may help determine how to better prepare today’s teacher candidates for the challenges of classroom teaching

Developing Critical Reflection and Inquiry Among Teacher Candidates in an Elementary Mathematics Methods Course

This study explores how past and present experiences with mathematics interact as teacher candidates engage in a series of critical inquiry and reflection opportunities embedded in a mathematics methods course. The study involved 28 teacher candidates enrolled in an undergraduate education program within a large university. Data were collected through a series of written reflections and semi-structured interviews. The results reveal that the teacher candidates possess a wide variety of feelings towards mathematics, yet they are often influenced by how they were taught as students. Further, negative experiences with mathematics appear to be more prevalent than positive ones. Opportunities for critical inquiry and reflective thinking allowed the participants to develop new understandings about teaching and learning mathematics. Overall, the findings indicate that there are meaningful pedagogical opportunities for giving teacher candidates opportunities to revisit previous experience, construct new meaning, and challenge old assumptions about teaching and learning mathematics