| In today's "high-stakes" teaching environment, a higher level of teacher understanding, knowledge, and skill is required to implement a standards-based mathematics curriculum that develops students' thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills. This research confirms that beginning teachers want and need curricular guidance and that they must gain an understanding of mathematics content and concepts to teach effectively.;I conducted a study of 11 beginning elementary teachers in Maryland to determine whether and how they understood and used the Riverside Public Schools' (pseudonym) mathematics curriculum. Specifically, my research question is: Within the context of state standards and high-stakes assessments, how do beginning elementary teachers in the Riverside Public Schools (RPS) understand and use the mathematics curriculum? Several sub-questions focused the study: (1) Do beginning teachers use the RPS mathematics curriculum? If so, how are these beginning elementary teachers using the curriculum? (2) Is support provided as these beginning elementary teachers learn to use the mathematics curriculum and do they rely on the mathematics curriculum? What additional support do they seek? (3) Do beginning elementary teachers adapt the mathematics curriculum in response to their students' needs?;Cohen and Ball's theory of internal dynamics of instructional units (1999) serves as a conceptual framework for this research. According to Cohen and Ball (1999), a dynamic and interactive relationship exists between teachers and students around curriculum materials. Through cross-case analyses, I explored whether and how beginning teachers understood and used the RPS mathematics curriculum and what supports they valued as important to their success.;This study is significant in the context of state standards and high-stakes assessments because the findings document that beginning elementary teachers use the mathematics curriculum for ideas and suggestions, for guidance and direction, for planning and sequencing lessons, and for learning mathematics content and pedagogy. The teachers in this study expressed a desire for professional development with the mathematics curriculum they were teaching that extended beyond general conversations. They wanted site-based professional development and support that was personal, ongoing, and specific to their mathematics curriculum. |
