Cindy Jong

Good and Just Teaching: The Case for Social Justice in Teacher Education.

A particularly controversial aspect of teacher preparation is the increasing number of teacher preparation programs that emphasize “social justice” as part of the curriculum. This article examines how students in a program with a social justice agenda understood the concept and how their understandings played out in practice. Using interviews and observations, we show that teacher candidates focused on ensuring pupils’ learning rather than merely boosting their self‐esteem or spreading political ideologies, as critics of the social justice agenda suggest. In classrooms, candidates concentrated on teaching content and skills but also had a critical perspective, built on pupils’ cultural resources, and attempted to reach every pupil. We argue that teaching for social justice, or what we title “good and just teaching,” reflects an essential purpose of teaching in a democratic society in which the teacher is an advocate for students whose work supports larger efforts for social change.

A Longitudinal Study of Teaching Practice and Early Career Decisions A Cautionary Tale

Although the turnover rate among beginning teachers has been a major concern for some time, most studies do not link teacher retention with teaching practice. In contrast, this study looks specifically at career decisions coupled with practice. Guided by a view of teaching as social and cultural practice, the study used multiple qualitative data sources, including extensive observations, interviews, and samples of teachers’ and students’ work. Based on within- and cross-case analysis of 15 cases at four distinct time points within a 5-year period, the authors identified multiple patterns of teaching practice linked to early career decisions, which reflect considerable variation in quality of teaching and career trajectory. The authors argue that “stayers” and “leavers” are not homogeneous groups, as is often assumed in research and policy. Rather, there are multiple variations of practice coupled with career decisions, some desirable and others not, with different implications for policy and practice.

Linking reform-oriented experiences to teacher identity: The case of an elementary mathematics teacher

ABSTRACT Novice teachers often have difficulty transferring what they learn in teacher education programs to classroom practice. This is especially true for elementary school teachers who are expected to teach mathematics with reform-oriented methods. The purpose of this longitudinal case study was to examine the experience of one novice elementary school teacher over a 3-year period, and understand the factors that supported her to enact a reform-oriented practice in mathematics as she transitioned from being a preservice to inservice teacher. Influential mathematics education models, her commitment to learning, and school-based contexts affected her teaching identity and practices. To conclude, an argument is made for teacher education experiences to explicitly address mathematics teacher identity to support the enactment of reform-oriented practices.

Examining the Relationship Between Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Mathematics and Professional Noticing Capacities

The goal of this study was to examine the changes in preservice elementary teachers’ attitudes toward mathematics in connection with their participation in a module aimed at developing professional noticing capacities. This module, implemented in 11 mathematics methods courses at five institutions, involved practice with three interrelated components of professional noticing—attending, interpreting, and deciding. Pre- and post-assessments of participants’ mathematical attitudes and professional noticing capacities were administered to measure change in these areas. Professional noticing measures were modeled from a similar study by Jacobs et al. (Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 41: 169–202, 2010). The Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory (Tapia and Marsh, Academic Exchange Quarterly 8: 16–21, 2004) was used to measure change in attitudes during the pre- and post-administrations. Participants demonstrated significant growth in professional noticing capabilities and significant growth on three of four factors of the Attitudes Toward Mathematics Inventory; however, there was no significant correlation between the changes on the respective measures.

Interpreting Early Career Trajectories

Career decisions of four teachers are explored through the concept of figured worlds in this qualitative, longitudinal case study. Participants were purposefully chosen for similarity at entry, with a range of career trajectories over time. Teacher career paths included remaining in one school, repeated changes in schools, attrition after relocation, and non-renewal of contract. Data included interviews, observations, participants’ assessments, and pupils’ work. Cross-case analysis suggests that no single teacher attribute or workplace condition determined teachers’ career decisions; rather, teachers’ ability to refigure their identity within the figured world of teaching shaped career trajectory. Key factors such as ability to address disequilibrium, teacher identity, agency, and collaborative capacity are examined. Implications call for pre-service preparation and professional development to navigate cultures of schools, amended administrative involvement in teacher retention, and policy reform acknowledging the complexity of teachers’ figured worlds.

Extending Equitable Practices in Teacher Noticing: Commentary

In recent years, equitable pedagogy and professional noticing have intersected in mathematics education research (Erickson, 2011; Hand, 2012; Wager, 2014). Teachers can make assumptions about students from non-dominant races, cultures, languages, and low socioeconomic status that are deficit-oriented (DiME, 2007). Thus, it is critical for equity to be central to professional noticing to provide all students with high quality learning opportunities. Hand (2012) emphasized the significance of teacher disposition in equitable instruction and developed a model consisting of three practice features to include: promoting dialogic space in classroom interactions, blurring distinctions between mathematics and cultural activity, and reframing the system of mathematics education. However, questions continue to be raised about what noticing for equity looks like in diverse classroom contexts. While there was agreement in this section on professional noticing consisting of the three interrelated components of attending, interpreting, and deciding (Jacobs, Lamb, and Philipp, 2010), the authors provided varying perspectives on how to embed equity. In this commentary, the following are highlighted: (a) equity frameworks, (b) teacher disposition and identity, and (c) classroom-based practices. Then, final thoughts are presented to connect topics in these chapters with further questions and considerations for the field.

School-Based Communities of Practice as Mechanisms for Standards-Based Mathematics Curriculum Implementation.

In this article, we draw upon Remillard and Bryans’ (2004) categorization of curriculum use in observations of two middle-grade teachers’ integration of Standards-based curriculum materials (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1989, 2000). Each teacher participated in a two-year professional development program focused on increasing content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, as well as fostering the development of communities of practice within each school site. We introduce the design of the professional development program to explain how the design supported each teachers use of Standards-based curriculum materials. Results indicated that the existence of site-based communities of practice established during the professional development program afforded one teacher continued opportunities to reflect upon and critique her instructional decisions, whereas the lack of a community of practice at another school site served to limit the integration of Standards-based materials.