Mathematics education reform:The role of coherence within the complexity of change

• Main Authors: Suurtamm, Christine, Graves, Barbara
• Other Authors: HTW Dresden, Informatik, Mathematik
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Saechsische Landesbibliothek- Staats- und Universitaetsbibliothek Dresden 2012
• Subjects: Untersuchung in der Mathematik; Reform; Unterrichtspraxis; inquiry mathematics; reform; classroom practice; ddc:510; rvk:SD 2009
• Online Access: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-80980; http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:14-qucosa-80980; http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/8098/Proceedings-636pages-Dresden2009_535-539.pdf

This paper draws on data gathered from a large-scale, multi-year research project, Curriculum Implementation in Intermediate Mathematics (CIIM), that examines the implementation of a reform (inquiry-oriented) mathematics curriculum in Grades 7 – 10 in Ontario, Canada. To describe classroom practices and ways that teachers have been challenged and supported in implementing an inquiry-oriented approach, the data included teacher questionnaires (n =1096), focus group interviews with mathematics educators across the province, and nine case studies. While some of our data align with the research of others who show that teacher change is complex and inquiry-oriented pedagogies are slow to emerge (Frykholm, 1999; Jacobs, Hiebert, Givven, Hollingsworth, Garnier, & Wearne, 2006), we also have evidence of teachers engaged in a variety of classroom practices that involve students in inquiry-oriented mathematics learning.