Abstract
We present an analysis that probed empirically the relationship among three different views of exceptional mathematics teaching: (a) the operational definition of “highly accomplished teaching” of mathematics used by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) in the United States, (b) the effective use of cognitively demanding tasks in the mathematics classroom, and (c) the use of innovative pedagogical strategies. We analyzed samples of instructional practice—lesson artifacts and teachers’ commentaries on lessons—submitted by candidates seeking NBPTS certification in the area of Early Adolescence/Mathematics. The instructional samples were systematically probed for evidence of mathematical and pedagogical features associated with the views of cognitive demand and innovative pedagogy, and the features found in the submissions of applicants who were awarded NBPTS certification are contrasted with those who were not awarded certification. Our analyses detected a fairly strong interaction between the NBPTS view of accomplished teaching and the view of effective mathematics instruction associated with cognitively demanding tasks. Nevertheless, even in these lessons that teachers selected for display as “best practice” examples of their mathematics teaching, innovative pedagogical approaches were not systematically used in ways that supported students’ engagement with cognitively demanding mathematical tasks.
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Notes
- 1.
This chapter extends another analysis of the same data set that has been reported in Silver, Mesa, Morris, Star, and Benken (2009). In that chapter we reported an analysis of mathematical and pedagogical features of submitted portfolio entries, but we did not distinguish between teachers on the basis of NBPTS certification status. In addition, the purpose of the earlier analysis was different from the intent in this chapter.
- 2.
Further details regarding the characteristics of our sample with respect to the total population of applicants seeking NBPTS certification in 1998–1999 are given in Silver et al. (2009).
- 3.
We provide here a summary of key points regarding our data analysis methods. Additional information can be found in Silver et al. (2009).
- 4.
Our usage agreement governing the NBPTS materials does not allow us to provide verbatim reproductions. The narrative summaries provide the essential aspects of the task that pertain to decisions regarding cognitive demand.
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Acknowledgement
This study was supported in part by grant #ESI-0083276 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the Educational Testing Service (ETS), under the direction of Gail P. Baxter and Edward A. Silver. The authors are grateful to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) for granting access to the portfolio data and to members of the ETS staff, especially Rick Tannenbaum, for facilitating access to the data, used in this investigation. Any opinions expressed herein, however, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF, NBPTS, or ETS. The authors acknowledge the contributions of Babette Benken, Kathy Morris, and Jon Star to the study reported herein, and also thank Angus Mairs, Douglas Corey, and Hala Ghousseini for their assistance with aspects of the data coding.
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Silver, E.A., Mesa, V. (2011). Coordinating Characterizations of High Quality Mathematics Teaching: Probing the Intersection. In: Li, Y., Kaiser, G. (eds) Expertise in Mathematics Instruction. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7707-6_4
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