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Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Education

Developing A Contextualization Of Students’ Mathematical Problem Solving, Sean P. Yee, Jonathan Bostic Dec 2014

Developing A Contextualization Of Students’ Mathematical Problem Solving, Sean P. Yee, Jonathan Bostic

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This paper investigates how students contextualize mathematical problem solving, not the actual problems. When students attempt to solve problems, what contexts (situational, cultural, or conceptual) do they evoke to describe their experiences with problem solving? The Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Practice emphasize contextualizing and decontextualizing problems, but what does this mean in practice? Middle and high school students were asked to attempt ability-appropriate problems during semi-structured interviews in this qualitative study. Situational contexts were analyzed using representation analysis (symbolic and nonsymbolic) while cultural contexts were analyzed using linguistic analysis (metaphors). The synergy of these two analyses developed a …


Role-Playing The Standards For Mathematical Practice: A Professional Development Tool, Jonathan Bostic, Gabriel T. Matney Jul 2014

Role-Playing The Standards For Mathematical Practice: A Professional Development Tool, Jonathan Bostic, Gabriel T. Matney

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This article describes a performance assessment to use during Common Core-focused professional development and shares insights from research using this assessment regarding about teachers’ comprehension of the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs). We asked 46 teachers from grades K-10 to read and make sense of the SMPs and then role-play a classroom scenario indicative of one SMP. This performance task is called Unpacking the SMPs. Teachers’ interactions during the role-play activity were intended to help them interpret the SMPs. From this role-play activity, PD providers were more aware of teachers’ initial comprehension of the SMPs.


Validating The Psm6, Jonathan Bostic, Toni Sondergeld Jul 2014

Validating The Psm6, Jonathan Bostic, Toni Sondergeld

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Objective for the presentation is to share results from a validation study examining a sixth-grade problem-solving measure.


Spaces For Children's Development Of Structure, Pattern, And Repeated Reasoning, Gabriel T. Matney, Jonathan Bostic Apr 2014

Spaces For Children's Development Of Structure, Pattern, And Repeated Reasoning, Gabriel T. Matney, Jonathan Bostic

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Our goal is to explore the difference of these two SMPs through a task designed for learners of differing abilities and connect the SMP and the mathematics content exhibited through the task engagement.


Looking For Elementary Mathematics Teachers’ Common Core-Focused Instruction, Jonathan Bostic, Gabriel T. Matney Feb 2014

Looking For Elementary Mathematics Teachers’ Common Core-Focused Instruction, Jonathan Bostic, Gabriel T. Matney

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This manuscript describes six elementary teachers’ instructional changes through the lens of the Standards for Mathematical Practices (SMPs). Teachers were randomly selected from a larger sample of K-5 teachers who engaged in yearlong professional development targeting the SMPs. Videos of their pre- and post-professional development programs were examined using a SMPs-focused protocol. They overwhelmingly provided more opportunities for students to engage in the SMPs after the professional development experience. We connect this impression with ways to effectively foster elementary teachers’ SMP-focused instructional practices through professional development.


Supporting K-10 Teachers' Instructional Changes To Promote The Standards For Mathematical Practice, Gabriel T. Matney, Jonathan Bostic Feb 2014

Supporting K-10 Teachers' Instructional Changes To Promote The Standards For Mathematical Practice, Gabriel T. Matney, Jonathan Bostic

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

This manuscript describes two cohorts of teachers’ instructional changes through the lens of the Standards for Mathematical Practices (SMPs). These teachers participated in a yearlong professional development program targeting the SMPs. Videos of their pre- and postprofessional development programs were examined using a SMPs-focused protocol. They offered more opportunities for students to engage in the SMPs after the professional development experience than before the professional development. We connect this impression with ways to effectively foster elementary, middle, and secondary teachers’ SMP-focused instructional practices through professional development.


Promoting Freedom Through Problem-Based Learning, Jonathan Bostic, Brooks Vostal, Brady Ruffer Jan 2014

Promoting Freedom Through Problem-Based Learning, Jonathan Bostic, Brooks Vostal, Brady Ruffer

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional tool for encouraging active thinking about realistic problems and making sense of them through multiple content-focused lenses. It also has the power to bring faculty together in support of academic and social goals for students. Using a case-study approach, we share the story of a rural school district’s faculty and administrators who decided to implement a school-wide, week-long PBL activity. We focus on the social studies component of the PBL activity, describing the initial decisions teachers made to create this project, the planning teachers completed throughout the semester leading up to it, and students’ …


Deepening Teachers’ Understandings Of Mathematical And Pedagogical Connectedness, Gabriel T. Matney Jan 2014

Deepening Teachers’ Understandings Of Mathematical And Pedagogical Connectedness, Gabriel T. Matney

School of Teaching and Learning Faculty Publications

In this paper, I will describe the findings and perspectives of one group of teachers who recently completed the Walk-Across task and share my views on the implications of these findings for those who lead professional developments focused on the CCSSM.