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Austin Independent School District
Division of Accountability
Office of Program Evaluation
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Executive Summary:
Austin Collaborative for Mathematics Education,
1997-98 Annual Report
Author: Michelle L. Batchelder, Ph.D. |
Overview
In the summer of 1997, the Austin I.S.D. launched the Austin Collaborative for Mathematics Education (ACME), a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve mathematics education districtwide. The initiative provides all K-8 mathematics teachers in the district with long-term professional development and campus-based support to implement current national standards for mathematics curriculum and instruction. Through the ACME professional development, district administrators intend to build a community of learners and to help teachers explore and acquire mathematics content, the philosophy of standards-based pedagogy, and classroom management for investigative mathematics instruction. In 5 years, over 2000 teachers, including general and special education, bilingual education, and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers, will participate in the ACME project.
The purpose of this evaluation is to examine the teaching practices of educators before they participate in the ACME professional development and to describe district teachers’
and principals’ attitudes toward mathematics reforms, the quality of ACME professional development, and the supports in the district and community to implement the project in its first year.
Methodology
Of a random sample of K-8 teachers, 248 mathematics and 39 special education teachers returned completed questionnaires on attitudes toward mathematics reforms, teaching practices, district support, mathematics content knowledge, and demographic characteristics. All 82 principals of the district’s elementary and middle schools completed questionnaires about school reforms, attitudes towards standards-based mathematics and science education, support for the ACME project, and school demographics. Ten randomly selected mathematics classrooms and 3 special education classrooms were observed and rated for the effectiveness of the instruction. Eight professional development sessions were observed and rated for quality and effectiveness. In addition, district and ACME project staff were interviewed about their experiences with the project and opinions about its progress. |
Major Findings
Strengths of ACME
- Most teachers new to ACME and principals were familiar with the language of standards-based mathematics and highly endorsed its practices.
- During the ACME project’s first year, the attitudes of teachers who participated in ACME professional development transformed from anxiety and apprehension to confidence and interest.
- The investigative culture and design of ACME professional development were primarily rated effective for supporting teachers’ efforts to enhance children’s mathematical competence.
- Strong points include the professional community of learners that the ACME project has established, the collaboration it encouraged within and across campuses, and its responsiveness to teachers’ concerns.
- Additional strong points include the alignment of district policies and curriculum as well as financial and material backing for the project.
Challenges of ACME
- Determine where deep understanding of standards-based mathematics education is lacking in the face of familiarity with the language of current standards for mathematics education in the district; teachers’ descriptions of their teaching practices and observer ratings may differ.
- Raise the quality of implementation, mathematics content, and pedagogy in ACME professional development, especially as the project adds teacher leaders who have little experience as facilitators.
- Maintain full teacher involvement over the course of ACME professional development and garner the full involvement and leadership of school administrators.
- School administrators and teachers need to agree on time for teachers to collaborate about mathematics education as well as promote more parent involvement in mathematics education.
- A particular challenge to ACME is the high stakes state and district assessment system.
- Establish support structures that will sustain high quality professional development in the district after ACME is complete.
Recommendations
- Foster among the district’s teachers, principals, central office administrators, and the community an understanding of the difference between superficial implementation and standards-based instruction that enhances children’s mathematical competence by building bridges between experienced and inexperienced educators.
- Continue to address teachers’ concerns about implementation through the framework of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model.
- Continue to provide teachers and principals with ongoing high quality professional development and to promote the professional community of learners that is emerging.
- Campaign for full participation of teachers and administrators in ACME professional development.
- Teachers need to make use of time set aside for collaboration on mathematics education and share innovative strategies that promote collaboration across campuses.
- Continue to address concerns about the relationship between standards-based mathematics curriculum and instruction and the district and state assessment system.
- Share lessons learned from the evolution of the ACME professional development system with the district’s department of professional development and develop a powerful, self-sustaining program.
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