Outcomes
The Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS) recently released the Mathematical Education of Teachers II (MET2) document (CBMS, 2012), which contains recommendations on pre-service teacher education as well as continuing professional development for in-service teachers. Math Teachers’ Circles are highlighted as a recommended form of professional development for middle and high school teachers. According to MET2, "A substantial benefit of [Math Teachers’ Circles] is that they address the isolation of both teachers and practicing mathematicians: they establish communities of mathematical practice in which teachers and mathematicians can learn about each others’ profession, culture, and work." The full document is available on the CBMS website.
Research on Math Teachers’ Circles has recently begun to provide evidence about how the program affects middle school teachers. Some highlights of this research include:
The National Science Foundation has awarded the American Institute of Mathematics a grant of $449,981 to study the impact of Math Teachers’ Circles on middle school mathematics teachers. The three-year project will include research on participating teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching and classroom practice. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs indicated that after one year of Math Teachers’ Circle participation, teachers reported increased feelings of being pedagogically prepared, more attunement to investigative culture and practices, and increased personal math teaching self-efficacy. Teachers also reported increased use of inquiry-based and investigative teaching practices during interviews. Consistent with teacher reports, classroom observations provided evidence of significant increases in the use of inquiry-based teaching practices. In addition, the observations showed significant increases in teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (Marle, Decker, & Khaliqi, 2012). Middle school teachers who participated in a weeklong intensive summer Math Teachers’ Circle workshop significantly increased their scores on a standard test measuring mathematical knowledge for teaching (White, 2011). Previous research has linked higher mathematical knowledge for teaching scores with increased student achievement (Hill et al., 2007). In a nationwide survey conducted in Fall 2010 (White & Donaldson, 2011), Math Teachers’ Circle participants reported increased enthusiasm for mathematics and use of interactive, student-centered problem solving in their classrooms. Many said the program has enabled them to see themselves as mathematicians. Teachers also reported that participating in a Math Teachers’ Circle has increased their belief that all of their students are capable of doing mathematics. In an article published in Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, Anthony Fernandes, Jacob Koehler, and Harold Reiter of the Charlotte Teachers’ Circle describe some of the key features of MTCs and present some observational and interview data from their Circle’s participants (Fernandes, Koehler, & Reiter, 2011). The Math Teachers’ Circle Network was included in a study of successful teacher networks conducted by Clinton Morrison, a Master of Public Administration candidate at the University of Colorado Denver (Morrison, 2011).
A summary of teacher outcomes is available here.
Several Math Teachers’ Circle sessions have also inspired mathematical research, including a publication in Mathematics Magazine by Gene Abrams and Jessica K. Sklar (Abrams & Sklar, 2010).
References
Abrams, G., & Sklar, J. K. (2010). The graph menagerie: Abstract algebra and the Mad Veterinarian. Mathematics Magazine, June 2010, 168-179.
Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences (CBMS). (2012). The Mathematical Education of Teachers II. Providence RI and Washington DC: American Mathematical Society and Mathematical Association of America. Available on the CBMS website.
Fernandes, A., Koehler, J., & Reiter, H. (2011). Mathematics teachers circle around problem solving. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 17(2), 108-115.
Hill, H. C., Ball, D. L., Blunk, M. Goffney, I. M. & Rowan, B. (2007). Validating the ecological
assumption: The relationship of measure scores to classroom teaching and student
learning. Measurement: Interdisciplinary Research and Perspectives (5), 2-3, 107-117.
Marle, P. D., Decker, L. L., & Khaliqi, D. H. (2012). An inquiry into Math Teachers’ Circle: Findings from two year-long cohorts. Paper presented at the School Science and Mathematics Association Annual Convention, Birmingham, AL.
Morrison, C. (2011). Advice from the field of teacher networks: Informing a potential AP teacher network in Colorado. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Colorado Denver.
White, D. (2011). Math Teachers' Circles - Impacting teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for
Teaching. Paper presented at the MAA Session on Fostering, Supporting, and
Propagating Math Circles for Students and Teachers, I, Joint Mathematics Meetings, New
Orleans, LA. Download slides
White, D., & Donaldson, B. (2011). How do Math Teachers’ Circles affect teachers? Themes
from teacher surveys. Paper presented at the MAA Session on Fostering, Supporting, and
Propagating Math Circles for Students and Teachers, I, Joint Mathematics Meetings, New
Orleans, LA. Download slides
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