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From Text to 'Lived' Resources pp 105–122Cite as

Modes of Engagement: Understanding Teachers’ Transactions with Mathematics Curriculum Resources

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Part of the book series: Mathematics Teacher Education ((MTEN,volume 7))

Abstract

Drawing on research on elementary teachers in the United States, this chapter explores and theorizes the relationships that teachers develop with curriculum resources as they use them. The central argument is that teachers are positioned by and through their encounters with curriculum materials as particular kinds of users of them. The chapter examines modes of address in curriculum resources and modes of engagement taken up by teachers to illustrate how this positioning happens, including how teachers participate in it through their epistemological stances and orientations. Modes of address are experienced through various forms found in curriculum resource, including structure, look, voice, medium, and genre. Modes of engagement are seen in forms of teacher reading, including what the teacher reads for, which parts she reads, when she reads, and who she is as a reader. Four examples of teachers engaging with a curriculum resource designed to reflect the NCTM Standards are used to illustrate how modes and forms of address interact.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Even though they were not designed by commercial publishers, the Standards-based curriculum programs are published and marketed by commercial publishers.

  2. 2.

    It is worth noting that the second edition of the Investigations (TERC, 2008) has a physical appearance more in line with conventional mathematics teacher’s guides than the first edition, although it continues to be organized in modules.

  3. 3.

    The Investigations curriculum is described in more detail in Section 6.6.

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Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the insightful and substantive feedback provided by Carolyn Kieran and the three editors of this volume. This chapter develops concepts and analyzes presented in several earlier publications (Remillard, 1999, 2010; Remillard & Bryans, 2004). This research described within was funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant nos. REC-9875739; ESI-9153834) and the Pew Charitable Trust (Grant no. 91-0434-000). The views expressed within are those of the authors and are not necessarily shared by the grantors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19146, USA

    Janine T. Remillard

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  1. Janine T. Remillard
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Correspondence to Janine T. Remillard .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. IUFM Bretagne site de Rennes, Rue Saint-Malo 153, Rennes CEDEX, 35043, France

    Ghislaine Gueudet

  2. Sør-Trøndelag University College, Trondheim, 7004, Norway

    Birgit Pepin

  3. , Institut Français de l'Education, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, 19 allée de Fontenay, BP 17424, 69347 Lyon cedex 07, France 19, Lyon, 69347, France

    Luc Trouche

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Remillard, J.T. (2011). Modes of Engagement: Understanding Teachers’ Transactions with Mathematics Curriculum Resources. In: Gueudet, G., Pepin, B., Trouche, L. (eds) From Text to 'Lived' Resources. Mathematics Teacher Education, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1966-8_6

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