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Professional development is necessary to support and empower teachers in meeting the high stakes demands of mathematics teaching and to ensure equitable, accessible, and high-quality instruction for all students. Using the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth, we designed and implemented a longitudinal, multi-faceted professional development project for teams of elementary general education and special education educators to enhance instruction in their inclusive elementary mathematics classrooms. Focused on high-quality mathematics tasks and co-teaching models, we explored changes in both instructional and collaborative practices. Findings indicated statistically significant increases in educators' mathematics content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Additionally, statistically significant improvements in observed teacher facilitation, student engagement, and co-teaching practices were found. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Deficit language concerning historically marginalized students pervades much of education today. Black, Brown, and Indigenous children experience marginalization and dehumanizing practices in classrooms instead of participating in a safe space to learn and grow. For this paper we employ a crucial component from Critical Race Theory to address systemic racism in schools: we listen to the lived experiences of professionals of color. These personal narratives open avenues for social justice through critiquing current and historical political, economic, and sociocultural practices and policies. This study examined how four Black collaborators -- one high school principal, one middle school principal, one elementary principal, and one special education teacher -- each with decades of instructional experience, address four key dehumanizing practices students of color experience in classrooms across the country in their own supervision practices.

Teacher candidates' sense of preparedness is integral to success as a teacher and longevity in the profession. Beyond preparing teacher candidates with content knowledge and pedagogy, elementary teacher preparation programs must be cognizant of teacher candidates' sense of preparedness and teacher candidates' concerns because of the impact each has on their future success. This yearlong study investigated elementary teacher candidate sense of preparedness across three U.S. institutions and across semesters. Qualitative data indicated that practical strategies during coursework and opportunities to apply theory to practice in actual classrooms had the biggest influence on feelings of preparedness. Teacher candidates felt well prepared to plan lessons and less prepared for classroom management, making accommodations and modifications, and assessment. While aspects of teacher candidates' sense of preparedness aligned with the study's theoretical framework, Fuller's concern theory, some teacher candidates never progressed to the concern with impact stage. Considerations for research and practice regarding teacher preparation programs are provided.

Just as elementary mathematics teaching is complex and lacks a single appropriate method, the same is true for mathematics teacher education. There is no consensus around the best approach to preparing prospective mathematics teachers to have a strong command of mathematical concepts, a robust understanding of pedagogical approaches, and a disposition towards children and mathematics that accounts for the historical, sociocultural, and political contexts. We designed a longitudinal, collaborative self-study to explore the experiences and perspectives of each author, their pedagogical design of mathematics teacher education, and the connections of these to prospective teachers' readiness to teach mathematics equitably. As part of a structured reflective process, we engaged in collaborative interrogation of written accounts of our backgrounds, experiences, and instructional choices. We also analyzed, using documentation tables and code mapping, journal entries following teaching sessions and inventories of class assignments to scrutinize if learning outcomes were realized in earnest. Our findings highlight how our personal and professional experiences shape our perspectives on schooling and mathematics teaching and learning, and how we make sense of equity in these contexts. These perspectives are evident in our course design and instruction, although this interrogation has raised questions about the efficacy of our work vis-a-vis our larger goals of preparing critically conscious mathematics teachers. This self-study underscores the imperative for mathematics teacher educators to examine both the contents of their course work and field experiences, as well as understand the reasons why those instructional choices were made.

Colleges of Education are witnessing a decline in elementary teacher preparation programs creating an urgent need to recruit students. Part of these efforts means initiating recruitment efforts in junior and high schools. Included in these recruiting efforts is work around changing the narrative around teaching as a potential career. Here we share working with junior high school students to examine their perceptions of teachers in order to work towards closing the parity gap with recruiting efforts.

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is important to producing students prepared for problem solving, critical analysis, and collaborative approaches to address the needs of the 21st century. For meaningful and intentional STEM instruction to occur, teachers need support and professional development. This paper presents a case study of a year-long professional learning project connecting the school's environmental science focus to improving mathematics instruction. A whole school agreement bounds this particular case. The school faculty initiated the project and included developing a mathematics trail to connect with their nature trail, garden, and an outdoor amphitheater. The quantitative and qualitative data reveal significant changes in mathematics practices and teachers' beliefs about the teaching and learning of mathematics. Since this case study revealed that whole school professional development in STEM could improve the teaching and learning of mathematics, implications for practice and research are discussed.

To encourage growth in instructional practice, the authors describe various formats, plans, and scheduling options for mathematics coaches and other stakeholders to consider when determining effective ways to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics.

For the past forty years, United States school districts have increasingly hired mathematics specialists to support the teaching and learning of mathematics. Despite the prevalence of this professional development structure, this is a relatively new research topic for the mathematics education field. In this paper, we report findings from an exploration of literature between 1981 and 2018 to examine the role of mathematics specialists (MSs). In particular, we examine: (1) MS positioning across research; (2) historical trends of school-based MS research; and (3) orientations of school-based MSs within research. Using the McGatha and Rigelman framework as an analytic lens, we found that beyond the positions identified in their framework (coach, intervention specialist, teacher), there were four additional MS positionings within the research (learner, other p-12 stakeholder, university stakeholder, unknown). Ultimately, we forward an expansion to the McGatha and Rigelman framework to include these new categories, as well as contextual descriptions and working definitions to support future research in more accurately and robustly capturing the ways in which MSs are investigated and reported on in research.

This article discusses a collaborative effort to implement curriculum compacting activities with elementary students in conjunction with developing teacher candidates' abilities to teach mathematics. This endeavor included a partnership between a university and a local elementary school. All stakeholders benefited from this project: The elementary students received differentiated instruction; the teacher candidates learned from teaching high performing students, which is not the norm of their field placements; and the school-university partnership was strengthened. This article describes the development of the partnership, the benefit of the experience for teacher candidates, and the impact on student learning.

Within a single internet search, thousands of results occur when looking for a lesson or mathematics activity. However, the results are not all of good quality. In this article, the authors present a mathematics lesson planning protocol (MLP[superscript 2]) to help process the search results and offer experiences of teachers using the protocol. The MLP[superscript 2] walks a teacher through the type of thinking and considerations needed for high-quality mathematics teaching and learning.

Elementary student teachers in both a yearlong and one-semester student teaching design were impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This phenomenon forced the closure of placement schools and their universities, and drastically changed the roles and responsibilities of student teachers. This qualitative phenomenology study sought to capture and describe the lived experiences through two different student teaching designs and their student teaching coordinators. This manuscript reports findings from analysis of student teacher and student teaching coordinator surveys that describe both beneficial and disappointing preparation experiences, as they navigated the ever-changing educational environment of student teaching during the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lived experiences of these student teachers captured how varying educational learning and teaching experiences were impacted due to the pandemic. Throughout these lived experiences, student teaching coordinators of both student teaching designs became an integral part of the communication chain for student teachers.

For nearly three decades, mathematics research has indicated the need for high-quality mathematics instruction including both ambitious and equitable practices, as well as continuous, innovative learning opportunities for educators. Teaching practices and standards for mathematical practice have been identified to provide guidance. While research connects effective professional development (PD) to improved instructional practices, there is a need for additional research on the role mathematics specialists play in developing and sustaining PDs. This qualitative case study examined the multiple roles of a specialist while laying the foundational components for a coordinated PD system to improve and strengthen mathematics teaching and learning in elementary classrooms. The PD efforts included the implementation of a teacher subsystem where a specialist led all components consisting of pull-out PD, mathematics coaching, collaborative time, and teacher networks. This study took place at a rural, pre-K through fourth-grade school in a southeastern state. Analysis of the data identified the specialist's key roles in each component of the teacher subsystem. The results indicated that the development and implementation of a teacher subsystem impacts the overall effectiveness of PD. Findings serve as a foundation for specialists to design and implement coordinated efforts that can have positive impacts on the teaching and learning of mathematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses Gresalfi and Cobb's (2006) definition of "mathematical authority": "the degree to which students are given opportunities to be involved in decision making and whether they have a say in establishing priorities in task completion, method, or pace of learning. Thus, authority is not about 'who's in charge' in terms of classroom management but 'who's in charge' in terms of making mathematical contributions." Many teachers face the uncertainty that comes with facilitating classroom discussion and working to share authority with students. The three-fold purpose of this article is to share: (1) the successes and challenges related to sharing mathematical authority; (2) a set of strategies teachers can use to address these challenges; and (3) a set of "Look Fors" to build teachers' awareness of effective approaches to sharing mathematical authority.

Teacher self-efficacy and teaching practices are both related to effective teaching and learning of mathematics. Given the theoretical and empirical basis for the importance of teacher self-efficacy, we hypothesized that teacher reported self-efficacy would be positively related to teacher self-reported effective teaching practices. This study examined the self-reported construct data across in-service educator grade level (i.e., elementary and secondary) and educator position (i.e., general education or special education) to determine the associations of constructs and the potential for differences between groups. Correlations between self-efficacy and teacher practices in-service teachers were analyzed using Kendall's Tau. A Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used to analyze the three participant groups (general education: elementary, general education: secondary, and special education) for the teacher self-efficacy and self-reported teaching practices constructs. Similarities and differences among the relationships between educator grade level, educator position, self-efficacy, and teaching practices are discussed. In addition, implications for future research and professional development with educators are outlined.

In this article, Lindsey Fowler describes how an animal rhyme--that she shared with her fifth-grade students with the intention of assisting them with the concept of metric conversions--made fostering the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) more difficult. The addition of animals, which added an extraneous element that students mistakenly attended to--much like rules and tricks--instead of the mathematics, caused confusion because they started basing their mathematical reasoning on something that had no reason at all. In this article, the authors address four common animal troublemakers that hinder both content learning and practice development. The amount of time often devoted to instruction with animals could be spent on more meaningful mathematics tasks that support students in building understanding of the concepts and procedures, rather than simply memorizing a set of steps or skills. For each animal, the authors explain the trick or strategy and the problems with it, and they offer alternatives that are more mathematically sound and meaningful.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to compare teacher candidates' sense of self-efficacy across institutions and at two different points within the teacher preparation program. Teacher candidate characteristics such as age and hometown were also explored in relation to reported levels of self-efficacy. Data in this study were collected from 143 teacher candidates enrolled at three Midwest institutions utilizing the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). Data analysis identified no statistically significant differences in teacher candidates' self-efficacy across three institutions, at two different points in the teacher preparation program, or based on age or hometown. Rasch results indicated that the TSES was invariant across age and teacher preparation programs. Implications for future research and teacher education are discussed.

Researchers across two universities and three different mathematics education courses implemented their vision of a novel grading approach called (Up)grading. (Up)grading shifts the focus of assessment from grades to growth. Key features of implementing (Up)grading included (a) providing students with opportunities to reflect upon and grow from their learning experiences, and (b) giving them a voice in determining their course grade. The findings suggest that most students perceived (Up)grading as a positive experience in their learning and as an assessment approach. The features of (Up)grading students believed contributed to the positive experience included giving them opportunities to reflect on their work and learn from their mistakes, as well as targeted feedback, enabling them to independently move their thinking forward. Tensions in the process did arise, including students' initial anxiety with the norm shift from grades to growth and instructors' management of the flow of assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mastery of language is critical to the mastery of content in middle school content area classrooms. In order to comprehend the disciplinary-specific texts that they encounter in their social studies, language arts, science, and mathematics classrooms, students must be literate in the content area vocabulary that is specific to those disciplines. Otherwise, specialized content area language may pose a barrier to student comprehension of content. Therefore, middle school teachers hold the dual responsibility of not only teaching their content but thoughtfully engaging their students with content area language during instruction. In this descriptive observational study, we explore the language support and focus in 1 middle school's mathematics classrooms. We observed a total of 4 teachers and classrooms over a month-and-a-half time period.

The language that students are learning in mathematics classrooms is intimately tied to the mathematics they are learning. The goal for any lesson or unit is for all students to be able to understand the mathematics they read or hear and be able to speak and write about that mathematics. Structured vocabulary placement can support that dual development of language and mathematics throughout a lesson. Numerous resources provide activities and strategies describing "how" to provide vocabulary support, yet little guidance is provided on the "timing" within a lesson. CCSSM's Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) emphasize the need for language: Mathematically proficient students need to be able to read and discuss mathematical problems, critique the reasoning of others, and use mathematical language precisely (CCSSI 2010). A focus on mathematical understanding and language development is important for all students, but these two are paramount for English language learners (ELLs). The authors suggest that rather than preteach essential language, educators should analyze vocabulary and decide which words might need to be pretaught, which words or phrases are better taught while students are engaged in doing the math, and which words might be better saved until students have explored the math. The authors provide suggestions for distributing vocabulary support throughout the lesson as a way to honor CCSSM's Standards for Mathematical Practice and students' needs for ongoing language support. They begin this article with some vocabulary considerations that are important to teaching mathematics.