Jeffrey Choppin | University of Rochester (original) (raw)

Papers by Jeffrey Choppin

Tensions and Alignment between Simultaneous Implementations of an Ambitious Mathematics Program and Understanding by Design, 2024

We studied a case of a school in a high need setting that undertook multiple simultaneous initiat... more We studied a case of a school in a high need setting that undertook multiple simultaneous initiatives during a major school reorganization. We focused on the simultaneous implementations of two comprehensive initiatives, one related to ambitious mathematics teaching and one related to the Understanding by Design curriculum writing process. We explored the extent to which educators in a mathematics department saw these initiatives as aligned or in tension. The results show that simultaneous ambitious initiatives may ultimately be mutually reinforcing, especially if grounded in common principles. We also found that initial tensions existed and diminished both initiatives at the outset.

Proceedings of the 2022 AERA Annual Meeting

Education policy analysis archives, Mar 26, 2024

Education Policy Analysis Archives, 2024

In this article, we explore demands and tensions involved when schools implement ambitious mathem... more In this article, we explore demands and tensions involved when schools implement ambitious mathematics teaching (AMT). Following a description of a framework that distinguishes between internal and external demands, we characterize the tension between these in terms of alignment, balance, and buffering, which collectively speak to coherence. We then describe AMT and how it represents a departure from traditional mathematics instruction found in most countries. We applied the framework to an illustrative case and found that while the school devoted considerable resources to reforming mathematics teaching and learning, challenges persisted. These challenges include ongoing language and participatory demands for students and, for teachers, balancing the demands of implementing AMT with a range of other initiatives. The framework provides a means of exploring the full range of demands associated with ambitious instructional reforms, how these demands are mitigated or exacerbated, and the kinds of resources necessary to sustain AMT

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Feb 1, 2017

Teachers are increasingly using digital resources to design lessons. We describe three perspectiv... more Teachers are increasingly using digital resources to design lessons. We describe three perspectives for describing teachers' interactions with digital resources, perspectives that denote different assumptions with respect to teacher agency and the connections between capacity development and resource use. This paper examines the tensions between these conceptions of teachers' interactions with digital resources and the ways other actorsincluding policy makers, curriculum developers, and purveyors of online contentframe the purpose for and development of digital resources. Our analysis suggests that the assumed role of the teacher differs across different sets of actors and different visions related to the design and development of digital curriculum resources. The implications relate to the opportunities for teachers to transform digital resources to suit their purposes and to develop and grow professionally as a result.

International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 2019

In this working group, we continue with previous efforts to consider design and research methodol... more In this working group, we continue with previous efforts to consider design and research methodologies related to teacher learning in online professional development contexts. We then describe an innovative project designed to support the development of middle school mathematics teachers, with a focus on three distinct forms of online learning: digitally communicated teaching lab lessons, an online course, and online video coaching. Given recent technological advances and demands to support teachers in various contexts, we contend that researching and understanding these online models, as well as other online models is important for the broader field of mathematics education. As a result, Year Three of this proposed discussion group will combine whole-group and subgroup time to converse about: (a) the challenges of online professional learning experiences, (b) research tools, methods, and analyses, (c) the connections among different projects and studies, (d) scaling up online models, and (e) future collaborations and research.

Springer eBooks, 2017

Teacher education in the United States is contextualized by efforts among various actors—for inst... more Teacher education in the United States is contextualized by efforts among various actors—for instance, state policy makers, teacher educators, and researchers—to wrest control over the terms, conditions, and consequences of accountability in the field. A key mechanism in this campaign is teacher performance assessments (TPAs), which have evolved with the accountability movement to serve the roles of gatekeeping teachers’ entry into the profession and evaluating the outcomes of teacher education. Tensions over TPAs as policy levers first emerged in California in the early 2000s, when—in response to a law mandating that teaching candidates pass a state-approved performance assessment for licensure—universities within the Performance Assessment of California Teachers (PACT) consortium developed an alternative to the existing test that aimed to emphasize subject-specific student learning, position the TPA as a formative assessment tool, and preserve flexibility in teacher education programming.

International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 2018

In this paper we discuss our development and use of a conjecture map for a large research project... more In this paper we discuss our development and use of a conjecture map for a large research project on the design and implementation of an online professional development model. Following Sandoval's (2014) model, we built the conjecture map to reflect our high-level conjectures (overarching goals of the project), the embodiment of the learning design, the mediating processes, and the outcomes. After roughly half a dozen iterations to ensure that we accurately and fully captured the features of the learning environment and the mediating processes, we used the conjecture map as an anchor for a number of our data analysis activities, particularly of our online course modules, and for initiating theory-building processes. We also found that it was an expedient way to communicate internally and externally the core assumptions and learning principles of our multifaceted online professional development model.

The literature in mathematics education has extensively documented the ways that discourse practi... more The literature in mathematics education has extensively documented the ways that discourse practices affect student learning and dispositions. However, there has been little discussion about how discourse practices affect what teachers learn in classrooms. This chapter builds from Davis’s (1997) description of listening practices to explore the related propositions that what teachers learn in the context of their teaching is tied to the ways they listen, and their opportunities for listening are tied to the language patterns they enact in their classrooms. I provide examples of classroom discussions to illustrate various types of listening/language patterns and their implications for teacher learning. The episodes of classroom discourse demonstrate a continuum of teachers’ listening practices and associated language patterns, from evaluative listening and teacher-centric language patterns to more interpretive listening and interactive discourse practices. In these episodes, evaluative listening involved less ambiguity than interpretive forms of listening, but revealed little about the deep ways students made sense of the mathematics. Interpretive and hermeneutic listening, by contrast, involved higher ambiguity but yielded deeper insights into student thinking than evaluative forms of listening. These findings highlight the importance of connecting teacher practices not only to student learning but also to what teachers know about how students learn mathematics. They also demonstrate the value of discourse analysis to understanding mathematics classroom practices of teaching and learning.

In 2013, New York and Washington became the first two states to require that candidates for initi... more In 2013, New York and Washington became the first two states to require that candidates for initial state teacher certification take and pass the edTPA – a performance assessment of teaching structured around artifacts and commentaries related to candidates’ planning, instruction, and assessment practices. With this movement of the edTPA into state policy contexts, we began a study in 2014 to document preservice teachers’ perceptions of and experiences with the assessment as a high-stakes licensure examination. In the summer of 2015, during the second year of our study, we surveyed 193 preservice teachers at 12 colleges and universities across both states, asking questions about: (1) the edTPA’s roles in their teacher education programs and student teaching placements; (2) candidates’ test completion efforts and the supports they received throughout the process; and (3) the extent to which participants found the edTPA to be a fair, credible, and impactful assessment of their teaching.

We present the results of our analysis regarding the discursive tendencies of four mathematics co... more We present the results of our analysis regarding the discursive tendencies of four mathematics coaches during planning and debriefing conversations within online coaching cycles. Guided by the Content-Focused model of coaching (West & Cameron, 2013), the coaching cycles are a single component of a larger online professional development model for middle school mathematics teachers in rural areas (Choppin, Amador, & Callard, 2015). This paper explores the different ways coaches talk with teachers during coaching conversations. Building on prior studies from literacy coaching (Ippolito, 2010), we found five different discursive moves for how coaches talk with teachers: invitation, suggestion, explanation, description, and evaluation. We use these moves to identify similarities and differences in the discursive tendencies of coaches. The implications of these discursive tendencies are provided.

International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 2017

As part of a larger study, we report findings on teachers’ use of the Common Core State Standards... more As part of a larger study, we report findings on teachers’ use of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) and teacher resources (TR) that were included with teachers’ published curriculum programs. We analyzed 147 lesson planning interviews with 20 middle school teachers to understand how teachers interpreted and enacted the CCSSM while working with their curriculum materials. We investigated teachers’ noticing of CCSSM and features of TR in planning lessons. Regardless of curriculum, teachers perceived that the lessons were designed to address the CCSSM. Findings for patterns among curriculum type, teacher orientation, and teachers’ noticing are presented. Implications for curricular policy and design are discussed.

We share results of a study on the analytic stances of coaches’ and teachers’ as they annotated k... more We share results of a study on the analytic stances of coaches’ and teachers’ as they annotated key moments from classroom video of the teacher’s lessons. In the analysis, emphasis was on the analytic stances of the coaches and how their annotations related to trends in teachers’ annotations. Findings indicate differences in how coaches and teachers noticed across the coaching cycles, suggesting the annotations were influenced by the interactions between the coaches and teachers and the teachers’ perceptions of coaching process. As a result of our analysis, we characterized one coach as having a high ratio of questions to suggestions, another as having annotations coded as interpretation, another as having more evaluations and suggestions, and the fourth as having asked more questions. Some teachers mirrored the analytic stance of their coach over time and other teachers shifted their analytic stance in ways that suggest they were responsive to their coach’s analytic stance.

Mathematics Education Across Cultures: Proceedings of the 42nd Meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, 2020

The 'Resource' Approach to Mathematics Education, 2019

In this afterword, I briefly summarize the documentational approach to didactics (DAD) since a nu... more In this afterword, I briefly summarize the documentational approach to didactics (DAD) since a number of authors have already comprehensively done so earlier in this volume. The 2018 Re(s)sources International Conference demonstrated the breadth, promise, and growth of DAD and how it allows the field to productively problematize the interactions between curriculum resources and those who use them. As a friendly outsider, I have explored DAD and grown increasingly familiar with it. Below, I explore key contributions of DAD and the strengths of its theoretical underpinnings. I then provide challenges and limitations of DAD before connecting it to my recent work in curriculum ergonomics.

Online Learning, 2021

This study explored an innovative coaching model termed video-based online video coaching. The in... more This study explored an innovative coaching model termed video-based online video coaching. The innovation builds from affordances of robot-enabled videorecording of lessons, accompanied by built-in uploading and annotation features. While in-person coaching has proven effective for providing sustained support for teachers to take up challenging instructional practices, there are constraints. Both logistical and human capacity constraints make in-person coaching difficult to implement, particularly in rural contexts. As part of an NSF-funded project, we studied nine mathematics coaches over four years as they engaged in video-based coaching with teachers from geographically distant, rural contexts. We adapted a content-focused coaching model that involved a collaborative plan-teach-reflection cycle with synchronous and asynchronous components. The planning and debriefing sessions were done synchronously via Zoom, while the teaching and initial video reflection on teaching via annotat...