미국의 “전국 수학 교사 협의회”(National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, NCTM)는 1989년부터 〈학교 수학의 교육과정과 평가 규준〉(1989), 〈수학 가르침(교수)의 전문성 규준〉(1991), 〈학교 수학의 평가(시험) 규준〉(NCTM, 1995), 〈학교 수학의 원리와 규준〉(2000)을 출판하여 미국의 수학 교육 의 전망(목표, 나아갈 길)과 규준(실행 지침)을 제시하였다. 수학 교사들로 구성된 미국의 NCTM은 학생, 학부모, 학교 행정가 등 많은 사람들과 힘을 합하여 모든 학생들에게 수준 높은 수학 교육을 받을 수 있는 여건(환경, 기회)을 조성하는 데 구심점의 역할을 하였다. 한편 많은 관련 단체들은 여러 배경과 능력을 가진 학생들이 전문성을 지닌 교사(특수 교사를 일컫는 밀이 아니다. 수학 교과를 이해하고 수학의 전문성과 특수성을 가르칠 수 있는 일반 교사를 일컫는 말이다.)로부터 미래를 대비해 평등하고, 진취적이며, 지원이 잘 이루어지고, 공학 도구(IT)가 잘 갖춰진 환경에서 중요한 수학적 아이디어를 이해하면서 학습할 수 있는 수학 교실(미국에서는 우리나라처럼 수학 교사가 수학 시간에 학생의 방(교실: Homeroom)에 찾아가지 않고 학생들이 선생의 방(수학 교실: Classroom)을 찾아온다. 전형적인 수학 교실의 사진은 2쪽에 나와 있다.)을 만들기 위해 함께 힘썼다. NCTM에서 출간한 여러 규준들은 우리나라의 제6차와 제7차 교육과정에도 큰 영향을 미쳤다. 이 글에서는 NCTM(2000)에서 제시한 학습 원리를 간단히 살펴본 다음 이를 중심으로 현재 미국 수학 교육의 교수ㆍ학습 이론의 동향을 살펴본다.

미국 NCTM의 Principles and Standards for School Mathematics에 나타난 수학과 교수,학습의 이론

This study aimed to investigate relations between perceived constructivist learning environments in a social studies teaching course in consideration of attitudes toward the course, academic delay of gratification, and students’ social studies teaching self-efficacy beliefs. A total of 295 preservice elementary school teachers participated in the study. The data were collected over three academic years during a social studies teaching course in the Faculty of Education at a state university in Turkey. Results showed positive and significant correlations between the variables. The study found that perceived constructivist learning environments in a social studies teaching course positively and significantly predicted the preservice elementary school teachers’ attitudes toward the social studies teaching course, their academic delay of gratification in the course, and their social studies teaching efficacy beliefs. Attitudes toward the social studies teaching course positively and significantly predicted both the academic delay of gratification in the course and social studies teaching efficacy beliefs. However, the direct effect of academic delay of gratification on social studies teaching efficacy beliefs was not significant. Moreover, some indirect effects of perceived constructivist learning environments were found.

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Exploring the Relationship Between Constructivist Learning Environments, Attitudes, Academic Delay of Gratification, and Teaching Efficacy Beliefs in a Social Studies Teaching Course

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify and summarize the primary themes and issues examined in relevant international research dealing with the relationship between culture and mentoring. The focus is on formal mentoring programs for educators in primary and secondary schools and higher education settings. Design/methodology/approach – The literature surveyed covered the direct and indirect impacts of culture on mentoring in primary, secondary and higher education settings. Manuscripts were organized around the topics of teacher education, teacher and leader development, and higher education. A thematic synthesis approach was used to summarize the findings. Findings – Findings indicated that research on cultural aspects of mentoring in education has focused on three primary themes: cultural aspects of the mentoring relationship; the impact of organizational structures on mentoring programs and relationships; and the manner in which ethnicity and societal beliefs relate to the purposes and stru...

Cultural influences on mentoring programs and relationships: a critical review of research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the usability of the Cultural Framework Analysis Process, a strategy designed to examine cultural factors in mentoring endeavors and to identify whether there are patterns of cultural elements that served to hinder or facilitate mentoring programs across a variety of organizations and contexts. The process also involves identifying methods for overcoming the barriers and enhancing the facilitating factors. Design/methodology/approach – Graduate students in a class on mentoring were given an assignment to analyze a mentoring program using the Cultural Framework Analysis Process. They were also asked to share their most significant learning outcomes. Data were gathered by two student groups over a two-year period. Researchers determined the usability of the analysis process by evaluating the quality of the student submissions. They aggregated the data and conducted a content analysis on the facilitating and hindering factors to determine commonalities and th...

Cultural influences in mentoring endeavors: applying the Cultural Framework Analysis Process

Background: Elementary classroom teachers must overcome a number of instructional barriers, including time constraints and professional preparation, if they are to deliver effective health education and enhance health literacy among youth. Purpose: This study examined the direct impact of a long-term professional development program on integrating health education and literacy instruction on third-grade teachers' confidence and practice and its indirect effect on student learning. Methods: Data on confidence and implementation of instructional and assessment practices were collected from 16 teachers. Students (n=99) from their classrooms and from four comparison classrooms (n=101) completed pre- and post-program constructed response assessment. Results: Significant increases were seen in teachers' confidence in describing health education standards, determining if students achieved the standards and using rubrics to guide scoring practices. Children's books were used to integrate instruction and ...

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the impact of professional Development to infuse Health and reading in elementary schools

Because of the pressure to increase test scores in reading and mathematics, content areas such as social studies are being eliminated from many elementary schools' curricula. It is critical that teachers find ways to integrate social studies into reading and mathematics. Social studies and mathematics may not immediately come to mind when considering subject area integration; however, these content areas can be effectively integrated through the use of children's literature and engaging activities. Research supports both curriculum integration and the use of children's literature in all content areas. Teachers must use effective methods for weaving subject areas together in ways that will motivate students and cover required state standards. This activity is an example of an activity that teachers can use to integrate social studies and math through the use of children's literature.

Ten Black Dots and September 11: Integrating Social Studies and Mathematics through Children's Literature.

Research has consistently shown that teacher efficacy is related to a variety of desirable student outcomes, thus, making teacher efficacy an important factor in high quality mathematics instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine elementary preservice teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs related to teaching mathematics. Forty-one participants from a single university responded to the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) after completing a constructivist-based elementary mathematics methods course prior to student teaching. The MTEBI is 21-item survey using a 5-point, forced choice Likert-like scale to provide an individual's perceptions of mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs on two subscales—Personal Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Belief (PMTE) and Mathematics Teaching Outcome Expectancy (MTOE). Responses on the PMTE subscale (Mean = 51.08, SD=5.171) indicate that the respondents’ personal mathematics teach efficacy is positive. Participants’ responses (Mean = 29.32, S...

An investigation of elementary preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching mathematics

Introduction Preparing teachers for diverse urban school environments is a challenge that all teacher preparation programs face. With today's changing demographics among student populations in public schools, teacher education programs realize that their candidates need more than a "one size fits all" general education curriculum. Tomorrow's prospective teachers need a "specialized knowledge of the lives a--nd learning styles of urban children--first hand experiences in urban schools and an understanding of the community from which the child comes" (Reed & Simon, 1991, p. 32). Over 90% of teacher education candidates are white females, and the majority of them are from backgrounds or families that many consider middle class. However, in general forty percent of children who attend public schools are not white (Dowell, 2008) and the majority of these children do not come from middle class families. In urban communities, most students are exclusively minority (Dowell, 2008; Irvine, 2003; Delpit, 1995) and are from low-income families. Many teachers have a tendency to want to teach students who resemble them not just in terms of race, but in terms of backgrounds as well (Dowell, 2008; Weinstein, Tomlinson-Clark, & Curran, 2004). If this is truly the case, then children in urban communities are in quite a predicament because "when school-aged children hail from a background markedly different from their teachers, disconnection can occur and tensions can surface" (Dowell, 2008, p. 1). Many of the academic and behavioral problems that urban children experience are actually a byproduct of the disconnection between the student and teacher. "The mismatch between the social, cultural, experiential, and linguistic backgrounds of students and their teachers could be viewed as one of the reasons why some school children fail" (Dowell, 2008, p. 1). In short, both teachers and students, regardless of race, lack the cultural capital needed to assist one another. Cultural Capital Cultural capital refers to the "ability to understand and practice the norms, discourse patterns, language styles, and language modes of the dominant culture. That is, given that the cultural forms of our society are dominated by white middle-class norms, behaviors, and language, individuals who lack the knowledge and skills associated with these norms and behaviors are denied access to success (Moore, 2003, p. 72; Pai & Adler, 2001)." There is a disconnection or a misunderstanding that occurs between many urban African American students and their predominantly white female and middle class teachers. This phenomenon is true, in part, because teachers and "schools utilize particular linguistic patterns, authority structures, interaction dynamics, and course material, all of which are familiar to children from higher social statuses" (Simpson, 2001, p. 67) but are unfamiliar to pupils from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The experiences of countless urban African American children and the ways in which they are socialized and reared do not resemble how schools are organized or the experiences and backgrounds of many of their middle class white or black teachers. This mismatch works to the detriment of both teacher and pupil. Because of this disconnection, many aspiring teachers have no desire to pursue a career in an urban school environment, many times because of fear of failure (Darling-Hammond, 2006). In addition, this disconnection also helps to explain why an achievement gap exists between African American students and their white counterparts. Many urban African American children simply cannot relate to their white (or black) teachers and vice versa due to the differences in their socioeconomic statuses. Teachers and students are communicating in language and ways of knowing that neither can understand. This lack of communication has an adverse effect on student achievement and teacher retention because no commonality or middle ground exists. …

Experiences of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers in an Urban Summer Enrichment Program

The impact of integrated STEM modeling on elementary preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for integrated STEM instruction: A co-teaching approach

The purpose of this study was to understand how and why middle grades mathematics teachers did or did not fully participate in sustained, content-focused professional development. Qualitative data ...

Kelly Byrd

Papers

Ten Black Dots and September 11: Integrating Social Studies and Mathematics through Children's Literature.

An investigation of elementary preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching mathematics

Experiences of Elementary Pre-Service Teachers in an Urban Summer Enrichment Program

The impact of integrated STEM modeling on elementary preservice teachers’ self-efficacy for integrated STEM instruction: A co-teaching approach

Middle Grades Mathematics Teachers’ Mixed Perceptions of Content-Focused Professional Development