Middle-school Mathematics and the Institutional Setting of Teaching (MIST) Project
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Middle-school Mathematics and the Institutional Setting of Teaching (MIST) Project
Abstract/Description
MIST is an ongoing project that is investigating the following question: What does it take to support mathematics teachers' development of ambitious and equitable instructional practices on a large scale.
The research base on supporting mathematics teachers' development of ambitious instructional practices at scale is thin in both mathematics education and in policy and leadership.
Funding agencies including NSF have invested heavily in ambitious agendas for teacher professional development in mathematics. Prior large-scale improvement efforts that have attempted to penetrate the instructional core of the classroom have rarely produced lasting changes in teachers' instructional practices.
This project is examining the school and district settings in which teachers work in order to enhance the impact of professional development on classroom instruction and student mathematics achievement.
Prior NSF-funded initiatives made an important contribution by focusing on a single aspect of the institutional settings in which mathematics teachers develop and revise their instructional practices: either 1) Principals' knowledge of mathematics and their beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning; 2) The content, pedagogical, and diagnostic knowledge necessary for leaders to assist mathematics teachers effectively; or 3) Districts' use of instructional guidance tools such as pacing guidelines and alignment charts.
The primary goal of MIST is to investigate, test, and refine a set of conjectures regarding the organizational arrangements, social relations, and material resources needed to enhance the impact of professional development on mathematics teachers' instructional practices and thus student achievement. In addressing this goal, we will take a comprehensive view of the institutional setting of mathematics teaching rather than focusing on a single aspect.
The research base on supporting mathematics teachers' development of ambitious instructional practices at scale is thin in both mathematics education and in policy and leadership.
Funding agencies including NSF have invested heavily in ambitious agendas for teacher professional development in mathematics. Prior large-scale improvement efforts that have attempted to penetrate the instructional core of the classroom have rarely produced lasting changes in teachers' instructional practices.
This project is examining the school and district settings in which teachers work in order to enhance the impact of professional development on classroom instruction and student mathematics achievement.
Prior NSF-funded initiatives made an important contribution by focusing on a single aspect of the institutional settings in which mathematics teachers develop and revise their instructional practices: either 1) Principals' knowledge of mathematics and their beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning; 2) The content, pedagogical, and diagnostic knowledge necessary for leaders to assist mathematics teachers effectively; or 3) Districts' use of instructional guidance tools such as pacing guidelines and alignment charts.
The primary goal of MIST is to investigate, test, and refine a set of conjectures regarding the organizational arrangements, social relations, and material resources needed to enhance the impact of professional development on mathematics teachers' instructional practices and thus student achievement. In addressing this goal, we will take a comprehensive view of the institutional setting of mathematics teaching rather than focusing on a single aspect.
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Organizational Entity
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Research Project/Team
IRE Approach/Concept
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Grant funding
Citation
Middle-school Mathematics and the Institutional Setting of Teaching (MIST) Project. (n. d.). Retrieved May 1, 2022 from https://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/departments/tl/teaching_and_learning_research/mist/
Funded by grant
ESI-0554535 (National Science Foundation)
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