Use of Standards-Based Mathematical Instructional Materials

Project Summary

The objective of this project is to study the ways in which middle school teachers adapt Standards-based instructional materials in mathematics. To conduct this study, the project team will conduct a mixed-methods research design. The sample of teachers comes from 30 K-8 or 6-8 schools in the Newark Public Schools. The project team will survey all middle school mathematics teachers in these schools building on the Survey of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) about the ways in which they adapt and supplement the Connected Mathematics Project instructional materials and why. Additionally, two or three schools will be chosen as case study schools to provide a richer sense of how and why teachers adapt and supplement instructional materials. Each teacher responsible for teaching middle grades mathematics will be observed over at least two consecutive days, including pre- and post-observation interviews, to examine how the teacher uses the CMP instructional materials in his or her planning and enactment of a lesson. The project will also collect student achievement data in the form of scale scores on the state test and embedded assessments and student interviews in case study classes to provide further information on the impact of instruction on students' learning. Analysis will focus on describing the ways in which teachers use the CMP instructional materials and also on the relationships between different types of adaptations and students' achievement.

Contact

• Principal Investigator: Karen King
• Department: Teaching and Learning

Funding

Opportunities for Student Involvment