Early Mathematics Teaching Profiles

Year 2019, Volume: 4 Issue: 3, 288 - 302, 01.07.2019

Bilge Cerezcı

https://doi.org/10.24331/ijere.573856

Abstract

Responding to the scarcity of research on early mathematics teaching profiles, this article reports on
a novel assessment approach to identifying characteristics of early mathematics teaching occurring
in early childhood settings. The new approach uses the interplay between teachers’ content
knowledge in mathematics, knowledge of students and learning, and knowledge of how to teach
mathematics effectively during the course of early mathematics as a proxy to identify quality of
mathematics instruction provided. In this study, 210 pre -kindergarten to 3rd grade teachers in a
large public school system in the Midwest were observed as they taught mathematics. The
descriptive results revealed that the quality of mathematics instruction varies considerably among
early childhood teachers. Some teachers are identified as delivering high quality mathematics
instruction because they provide students with opportunities to fully and purposefully engage in
deepening their understanding of important mathematics concepts, whereas others are rated as far
lower in quality, because their mathematics teaching is procedural in terms of content emphasized
and instructional strategies used. As a whole, observed quality of mathematics teaching was
revealed to be mediocre. Implications of results for early math professional development are
discussed. 

Keywords

Teaching Profession, Pedagogical Formation, Attitude

References

• Armstrong, A., Ginet, L., & Warisi, S. (2012, January). Exploring early math teaching and learning in community college ECE programs. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the Illinois Education Research Council, Tinley Park, IL. Aunola, K., Leskinen, E., Lerkkanen, M. K., & Nurmi, J. E. (2004). Developmental dynamics of math performance from preschool to grade 2. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(4), 699-713. Ball, D. L. (1990). The mathematical understandings that prospective teachers bring to teacher education. The Elementary School Journal, 90(4), 449-466. Ball, D. L. (1991). What's all this talk about "discourse"? Arithmetic Teacher, 39(3), 44-48. Ball, D. L., & Rowan, B. (2004). Introduction: Measuring instruction. Elementary School Journal, 105(1), 3-10. Baroody, A.J. (2001). Early number instruction. Teaching Children Mathematics, 8(3), 154-158. Baroody, A. J., & Dowker, A. (2003). The development of arithmetic concepts and skills: Constructing adaptive expertise. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Bodovski, K & Farkas, G. (2007) Mathematics Growth in Early Elementary School: The Roles of Beginning Knowledge, Student Engagement and Instruction. The Elementary School Journal, 108(2), 115-130. Bransford, J., Darling-Hammond, L., & LePage, P. (2005). Introduction. In L. Darling- Hammond and J. Bransford (Eds.). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do (pp. (1-39). San Francisco: Jossey- Bass. Brenneman, K., Boller, K., Atkins-Burnett, S., Stipek, D., Forry, N., Ertle, B., French, L., Ginsburg, H., Frede, E. & Schultz T. (2011). Measuring the quality of early childhood math and science curricula and teaching. In M Zaslow, I. Martinez-Beck, K. Tout & T. Halle (Eds.), Quality Measurement in Early Childhood Settings (pp.77-103). Baltimore Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.. Brophy, J. E. (1991). Conclusion to advances in research on teaching, Vol. II: Teachers’ knowledge of subject matter as it relates to teaching practice. In Brophy (Ed.), Advances in research on teaching: Vol. 2 Teachers’ subject matter knowledge and classroom instruction (pp. 347-362). Greenwich, CT: JIA Press. Brown, E. T. (2005). The influence of teachers’ efficacy and beliefs regarding mathematics instruction in the early childhood classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 26, 239-257. Bursal, M. & Paznokas, L. (2006). Mathematics anxiety and preservice elementary teachers’ confidence to teach mathematics and science. School Science and Mathematics, 106(4), 173-180. Cameron, C. E., Connor, C. M., & Morrison, F. J. (2005). Effects of variation in teacher organization on classroom functioning. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 61–85. Carr, M., Peters, S. & Young-Loveridge, J. (1994). Early Childhood Mathematics – A Framework. In J. Neyland (Ed.) Mathematics Education –A Handbook for Teacher. Vol 1, pp.262-269. Wellington: Wellington College of Education. Chung, K.-E. (1994). Young children’s acquisition of mathematical knowledge and mathematics education in kindergarten. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Iowa State University, Iowa. Clements, D.H. (2001). Mathematics in the preschool. Teaching Children Mathematics, 7, 270-275. Clements, D. H. (2004). Preface. In D. H. Clements, J. Sarama, & A. -M. DiBiase (Eds.), Engaging young children in mathematics: Standards for early childhood mathematics education (pp. ix-xv). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2007). Effects of a preschool mathematics curriculum: Summative research on the Building Blocks project. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 38, 136-163. Clements, D. H. & Sarama, J. (2009). Learning and teaching early math: The learning trajectories approach. New York, NY: Routledge. Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2011). Early childhood mathematics intervention. Science, 333(6045), 968-970. Clements, D. H., Sarama, J., & Gerber, S. (2005, April). Mathematics Knowledge of Entering Preschoolers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada. Cobb, P., Yackel, E., Wood, T., & Wheatley, G. (1988). Research into practice: Creating a problem -solving atmosphere. Arithmetic Teacher, 36(1), 46-47. Copley, J. V., (2004). The early childhood collaborative: A professional development model to communicate and implement the standards. In D. H. Clements, J. Sarama, & A.-M., DiBiase (Eds.), Engaging young children in mathematics: Standards for early childhood mathematics education (pp. 401-414). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Copple, C. E. (2004). Mathematics curriculum in the early childhood context. In D. H. Clements, J. Sarama, & A.-M., DiBiase (Eds.), Engaging young children in mathematics: Standards for early childhood mathematics education. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum. Darling-Hammnod, L. (2006). Constucting 21st Century Teacher Education. Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 57(10), 1-15. Duncan, G. J., Dowsett, C. J., Claessens, A., Magnuson, K., Huston, A. C., Klebanov, P., et al. (2007). School readiness and later achievement. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1428–1446. Emmer, E. T., & Stough, L. M. (2001). Classroom management: A critical part of educational psychology, with implications for teacher education. Educational Psychologist, 36(2), 102-112. Engel, M., Claessens, A., & Finch, M. (2011). Teaching students what they already know? The misalignment between mathematics instructional content and student knowledge in kindergarten. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana. Epstein, A. S. (2003). How planning and reflection develop young children’s thinking skills. Young Children, 58(4), 28–36. Fennema, E. & Romberg, T. A. (Eds.) (1999). Classrooms that promote mathematical understanding. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Flanagan, K.D., McPhee, C., & Mulligan, G. (2009). The Children Born in 2001 at Kindergarten Entry: First Findings From the Kindergarten Data Collections of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). (NCES 2010-005). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Ginsburg, H. P., Jang, S., Preston, M., Appel, A., & VanEsselstyn, D. (2004). Learning to think about early childhood mathematics education: A course. In C. Greenes & J. Tsankova (Eds.), Challenging young children mathematically (pp. 40-56). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin. Ginsburg, H., Lee, J., & Byod, J. (2008). Mathematics education for young children: What it is and how to promote it. Society for Research in Child Development, Social Policy Report, 22, 3-22. Graham, T.A., Nash, C., & Paul, K. (1997). Young children’s exposure to mathematics: The child care context. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25(1), 31-38. Hill, H.C., Schilling, S.G., & Ball, D.L. (2004) Developing measures of teachers’ mathematics knowledge for teaching. Elementary School Journal, 105, 11-30. Kilpatrick, J., Swafford, J., & Findell, B. (Eds.). (2001). Adding it up: Helping children learn mathematics. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Klein, A., & Starkey, P. (2004). Fostering preschool children’s mathematical knowledge: Findings from the Berkeley Math Readiness Project. In D. H. Clements & J. Sarama (Eds.), Engaging young children in mathematics (pp. 343–360). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Lee, J. S. (2004). Correlations between kindergarten teachers’ attitudes toward mathematics and teaching practice. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 25(2), 173-184. Lee, J. S., Ginsburg, H. (2009). Early childhood teachers' misconceptions about mathematics education for young children in the United States. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 34(4), 37-45. Ma, L. (1999). Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. National Association for the Education of Young Children and National Council of Teacher s of Mathematics. (NAEYC & NCTM) (2002). Early childhood mathematics: Promoting good beginnings. Retrieved from http://www. naeyc.org/about/positions/psmath.asp National Commission on Mathematics & Science Teaching for the 21st Century. (NCMST) (2000). Before it’s too late: A report to the Nation from the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century. National Research Council. (2009). Mathematics in early childhood: Learning paths toward excellence and equity. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2012). Education at a Glance 2012: Highlights, OECD Publishing. Pianta, R. C., LaParo, K. M., & Hamre, B. K. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Pre-K Version. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing. Richardson, K., & Salkeld, L. (1995). Transforming mathematics curriculum. In Sue Bredekamp & Teresa Rosegrant (Eds.), Reaching potentials: Transforming early childhood curriculum and assessment (Vol. 2, pp. 23-42). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73(2), 417–458. Romberg, T., & Kaput, J. (1999). Mathematics worth teaching, mathematics worth understanding. In E. Fennema, & T. Romberg (Eds.), Mathematics classrooms that promote understanding (pp. 3-18). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Rudd, L. C., Lambert, M. C., Satterwhite, M., & Zaier, A. (2008). Mathematical Language in Early Childhood Settings: What Really Counts? Early Childhood Education Journal, 36, 75-80. Sanders, W. L., & Rivers, J. C. (1996). Cumulative and residual effects of teachers on future student academic achievement. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Value-Added Research and Assessment Center. Sarama, J., & Clements, D. H. (2010). The mathematical lives of young children. In V. Washington & J. D. Andrew (Eds.), Children of 2020: Creating a better tomorrow (pp. 81-84). Washington, DC: Council for Professional Recognition. Sarama, J., Di Biase, A.M., Clements, D. H.,& Spitler, M. E.(2004).The Professional Development Challenge in Preschool Mathematics. In D. H. Clements, J. Sarama, & A.M. DiBiase (Eds.), Engaging Young Children in Mathematics: Standards for Early Childhood Mathematics Education (pp. 415 -446). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. Saxe, G. B., Guberman, S. R., & Gearhart, M. (1987). Social processes in early number development. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 52(2, Serial No. 216). Starkey, P., Klein, A. and Wakeley, A. (2004) Enhancing Young Children’s Mathematical Knowledge through a Pre-Kindergarten Mathematics Intervention. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(1), 99-120. Starkey P, Klein A, DeFlorio L. (2014). Promoting math readiness through a sustainable prekindergarten mathematics intervention. In: Boivin M, Bierman KL, eds. Promoting school readiness and early learning. Implications of developmental research for practice. New York, NY: The Guilford Press; 2014:187-210. Stein, M. K., Smith, M. S., Henningsen, M. A., & Silver, E. A. (2009). Implementing standards-based mathematics instruction: A casebook for professional development (Second Edition). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Sutton, J., & Krueger, A. (Eds). (2002). EDThoughts: What we know about mathematics teaching and learning. Aurora, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. Tudge, J., & Doucet, F. (2004). Early mathematical experiences: Observing young Black and White children’s everyday experiences. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19, 21–39. Van Den Heuvel-Panhuizen, M. (1990). ‘Realistic arithmetic/mathematic instruction and tests’ in: Gravemeijer, K., Van den Heuvel, M. & L. Streefland, L. (eds) Contexts, Free Productions, Tests and Geometry in Realistic Mathematics Education, State University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, OW&OC, pp. 53 - 78. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (Michael Cole, Vera John-Steiner, Sylvia Scribner, & Ellen Souberman, Eds. & Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Walberg, H. J. (1984). Improving the productivity of America’s schools. Educational Leadership, 41(8), 19–27. Weiss, I. R. & Pasley, J. D. (2004). What is high-quality instruction? Educational Leadership, 61(5). Weiss, I. R., Pasley, J. D., Smith, P. S., Banilower, E. R., & Heck, D. J. (2003). Looking inside the classroom: A study of K-12 mathematics and science education in the United States. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research, Inc. Wilkins, J.L.M. (2008). The relationship among elementary teachers’ content knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 11 (2), 139-164. Yackel, E. and Cobb, P. (1996) Sociomathematical norms, argumentation, and autonomy in mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 22, 390-408.