A Multilevel Analysis of the Impact of Teachers’ Beliefs and Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching on Students’ Mathematics Achievement (original) (raw)
Related papers
2015
Research suggests that teachers’ knowledge and beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics are among the key factors for effective teaching. This study explores the extent to which K-12 mathematics teachers’ educational beliefs and mathematics knowledge for teaching (MKT) have an impact on students’ math achievement. The effects of students’ prior math achievement and teachers’ years of experience and mathematics degrees earned were also examined. Hierarchical regression analysis results indicated that prior achievement was a significant student-level predictor of mathematics achievement. Teachers’ MKT and teaching experience also had a significant effect on the relation between prior achievement and current achievement. Results may have implications for teacher professional development programs as well as education policies at both district and state level.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 2015
This paper examines the antecedents of three types of educational beliefs about mathematics among 151 teachers predominantly working in high poverty schools. Studies across various countries have found that teachers in high poverty schools are less likely to enact instructional approaches that align with mathematics reform standards set by national and international organizations. Researchers contend that for instruction to change, educational beliefs about mathematics and teaching must change. Regression analyses indicated that mathematics-teaching experience was associated with teachers' self-efficacy for teaching mathematics at the onset of professional development and the number of mathematics college courses teachers had taken moderated their change in self-efficacy beliefs through professional development. Findings also indicated that epistemic beliefs about mathematics, which became more availing through professional development, were the strongest predictor of their mathematical knowledge for teaching. Results may inform professional development programs in promoting adaptive educational beliefs among teachers in high poverty schools.
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education
This study of early-career teachers identified a significant relationship between upperelementary teachers' mathematical content knowledge and their students' mathematics achievement, after controlling for student-and teacher-level characteristics. Further, the mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge of middle-grades teachers were each directly and positively related to their students' mathematics achievement, with and without teacher-level controls. Significant interactions emerged between teachers' perceptions and knowledge influencing student achievement. Teachers' claimed awareness of their students' dispositions toward mathematics interacted with upperelementary teachers' content knowledge; middle-grades teachers' beliefs regarding modeling mathematical solutions and organizing instruction to support incremental mastery of skills interacted with both content and pedagogical knowledge. Findings provide evidence of the relevance of teacher knowledge and perceptions for teacher preparation and professional development programs.
Effects of teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching on student achievement
American Educational Research …, 2005
This study explored whether and how teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching contributes to gains in students' mathematics achievement. The authors used a linear mixed-model methodology in which first and third graders' mathematical achievement gains over a year were nested within teachers, who in turn were nested within schools. They found that teachers' mathematical knowledge was significantly related to student achievement gains in both first and third grades after controlling for key student-and teacher-level covariates. This result, while consonant with findings from the educational production function literature, was obtained via a measure focusing on the specialized mathematical knowledge and skills used in teaching mathematics. This finding provides support for policy initiatives designed to improve students' mathematics achievement by improving teachers' mathematical knowledge.
Action in Teacher Education , 2012
This longitudinal study examines the effects of changes in an elementary teacher preparation program on mathematics beliefs and content knowledge for teaching of two groups of prospective teachers (N = 276): (1) those who completed a program with three mathematics content courses and two mathematics methods courses and (2) those who completed a program with four mathematics content courses and a single mathematics methods course. The results reveal salient benefits of a second methods course that were not evident in the new program with only one methods course. Further, the addition of a fourth content course did not result in notable differences in mathematical knowledge for teaching. In addition, mathematical knowledge for teaching was positively linked to change in pedagogical beliefs about learners, further illuminating the interwoven nature of knowledge and beliefs.
Statewide Mathematics Professional Development: Teacher Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Beliefs
Educational Policy, 2014
We examined the impact of a state-mandated K-12 mathematics professional development course on knowledge, self-efficacy, and beliefs of nearly 4,000 teachers and administrators. Participants completed the Mathematical Thinking for Instruction course, emphasizing student thinking, problemsolving, and content knowledge specific to mathematics instruction. Inventories utilizing items from the Learning Mathematics for Teaching project measured changes in participants' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT) and an end-of-course self-evaluation enabled analysis of changes self-efficacy and beliefs. Statistically significant changes were found in all three variables. This study adds to our understanding of the potential usefulness of mandating large-scale professional development as a policy vehicle for influencing educators' mathematics knowledge and beliefs.
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 2014
This study investigates relationships between teacher characteristics and teachers’ beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning and the extent to which teachers claim awareness of their students’ mathematical dispositions. A professional background survey, a beliefs and awareness survey, and a teacher mathematical knowledge assessment were administered to 259 novice upper-elementary and 184 novice middle-grades teachers. Regression analyses revealed statistically significant relationships between teachers’ beliefs and awareness and teachers’ mathematical knowledge, special education certification, race, gender, and the percentage of their students with free and reduced meal status. This report offers interpretations of findings and implications for mathematics teacher education.
2013
National Research Council, 2001). Comparisons of students' performance on international assessments (Martin et al., 2004; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2010), and examination of teachers' instructional practices compared to other countries (Stigler & Hiebert, 1999), indicate a need for significant changes to our traditional method of mathematics instruction. In light of recent policy initiatives, such as the multi-state adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and associated accountability measures from SBAC and PARCC, which are designed to address both increased rigor and depth of mathematical understanding, it is important to determine whether largescale professional development programs can be used to impact malleable teacher factors such as beliefs and knowledge. * Significant to the .000 level (two-tailed).
International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 2023
Article History Using nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 data, this quantitative study examined how math teacher qualifications affect U. S. 9 th graders' math achievement and attitudes. The study is guided by the Cognitive Apprenticeship Theory that emphasizes that expert teachers enable students to learn as apprentices and construct knowledge within the activity, context, and culture in which it is learned. The study shows that not only does cognitive apprenticeship enable skill development and knowledge acquisition, but it shapes student math self-efficacy and interest in the subject, and it develops their math identity if students viewed math teachers as role models. The study employs a comparative research design to explore the main effects and interaction between teachers' credential type and field of study degree on student outcomes. One notable finding is that teacher credentials (i.e., level of education & certification) affected student math achievement and math identity but had weaker effects on math self-efficacy, math utility and interest in math courses. Second, holding a math degree affected students' math achievement and math identity, while holding a degree in education had some positive effects on increasing students' interest in math courses. Results have direct implications for the field of Mathematics Education showing that teacher qualifications affect student beliefs and attitudes toward mathematics.
2007
This study explores prospective elementary teachers learning in mathematics content courses required in their teacher preparation programs. We investigate what they learn and how their learning gains can be explained. For these purposes, we use a preexperimental research design with a pretest and posttest. Data from 588 students who took both pretest and posttest from 36 certified undergraduate teacher preparation programs were analyzed for this study. Pre-test and post-test scores were put on the same metric using an IRT equating procedure with fixed item parameter equating. Gain scores were computed by subtracting pretest scores from posttest scores. The result of paired samples t-test showed that the gain scores are statistically significant and the effect size was moderate with the value of 0.51. A final multiple regression model with 4 student-level predictors explained about 30 % of the variation in gain scores. In the next phase of analysis we will explore additional predictors using multilevel modeling to incorporate instructor and institution level variables.