Making Teaching Public in a Math Centered Learning Environment: What Did We Learn?

Authors: Gail Burrill, James King, Catherine Giesbrecht

The data suggest that PD³ teachers are taking on leadership roles in a variety of ways. For example, analysis of teacher activities indicates that teachers at one PD³ Seattle school actively seek out academic and attendance records for each potentially failing student in Course1 prior to the end of the semester, analyze the records for patterns, consult with individual students, offer "last chance" packets to make up failing work, and notify parents of their actions.  Teachers and the project leadership team created a DVD based on the changes at the school for use in parent meetings.  One teacher designed and implemented a series of successful Pre-calculus Portfolio Nights, where students explain important math ideas to their parents or guardians. These evenings have become a model for other teachers and departments in the school. The video club at the middle school was conceived of and developed under the leadership of a PD³ /SSTP teacher with support from the district math coach. Video club has been replicated in New Mexico, in consultation with the teachers in Seattle; teachers design and lead these sessions. The Seattle teachers organized and presented a "mock" video club for a PCMI cross-program activity that was very well received; five of these teachers have transitioned into table leaders for the SSTP and three have led or co-led the SSTP's Learning from Teaching Cases working group. The district coordinator in McAllen is calling on PD³ teachers to help deliver district inservice to their peers, and in Seattle, PD³ teachers are being called on to provide inservice to teachers from other disciplines in their school as well as serve on a variety of committees in the district.

The social network analysis indicates stronger leadership growth in some schools than others with patterns that are currently being analyzed in conjunction with other data to see what inferences can be made.

The data indicate that teachers are focusing more on what students are thinking and doing and less on their role as "delivering" knowledge, suggesting that what teachers discuss in video club, lesson study, and common planning periods, and how they discuss it, is changing over time. They begin to take on a more interpretive, as opposed to evaluative, stance toward classroom events occurring during research lessons or video excerpts or in their own teaching. The teachers are at various stages of grounding their interpretations in evidence and gradually shifting from giving anecdotal advice to seeking an understanding based upon evidence from student work, discussions and actions.       

Changes in student achievement are evident in state assessment data in Seattle. In 2004/5, 56% of the students in one PD³ school met standard on the state test, WASL Math; in 2006/7 67% of the students met standard.  The district as a whole had a 9.4% gain, compared to the school's 12.9% gain.  And, African American and low income students, two foci of the PD³ teachers, showed large gains: African American students had a 14.4% gain compared to 6.7% for the district and Low income students gained 18.8% compared to 6.1% gain for the district. The passing rate for ninth graders also improved. This success is being used by the Seattle Public Schools as a proof-of-concept that reformed practice can make a difference and as a model for change in math teaching in other Seattle schools.

Data on the progress of students in the Jump Up to High School program in McAllen show an improved algebra passing rate during the academic year: 86% compared to a district passing rate of 74%.  They also indicate higher levels of achievement on the state test, although these data continue to be analyzed. Pre and post-tests from the Orleans-Hanna Algebra Prognosis test given to students during the Mathworks summer training program show a statistically significant gain in student preparation for algebra (p<0.01). Given that New Mexico has only been involved as a project school for two years, it is early to see any real change in student achievement there, although a middle school principal has noted the academic improvement of the students of one PD³ teacher.

Pre- and post-tests for the teachers taking part in Mathworks laboratory course show significant gains in content knowledge (pre-post test difference of 16%). Journals, classroom observations, and notes from video-conference sessions indicate that teachers are bringing a better knowledge of mathematics into their classrooms.