Elementary Mathematics Curriculum Materials: Designs for Student Learning and Teacher Enactment

The book presents comparative analyses of five elementary mathematics curriculum programs used in the U.S. from three different perspectives: the mathematical emphasis, the pedagogical approaches, and how authors communicate with teachers. These perspectives comprise a framework for examining what curriculum materials are comprised of, what is involved in reading and interpreting them, and how curriculum authors can and do support teachers in this process. Although the focus of the analysis is 5 programs used at a particular point in time, this framework extends beyond these specific programs and illuminates the complexity of curriculum materials and their role in teaching in general. Our analysis of the mathematical emphasis considers how the mathematics content is presented in each program, in terms of sequencing, the nature of mathematical tasks (cognitive demand and ongoing practice), and the way representations are used. Our analysis of the pedagogical approach examines explicit and implicit messages about how students should interact with mathematics, one another, the teacher, and the textbook around these mathematical ideas, as well as the role of the teacher. In order to examine how curriculum authors support teachers, we analyze how they communicate with teachers and what they communicate about, including the underlying mathematics, noticing student thinking, and rationale for design elements. The volume includes a chapter on curriculum design decisions based on interviews with curriculum authors.

Dr. Janine Remillard is a Professor of mathematics education and the Faculty Director of Teacher Education at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include teachers’ interactions with mathematics curriculum resources, mathematics teacher learning in urban classrooms, and teacher education. She is co-editor of the volume, Mathematics Teachers at Work: Connecting Curriculum Materials and Classroom Instruction. Remillard has undertaken research and development projects on teacher learning and development, curriculum use, and formative assessment. She is active in the mathematics education community in the U.S. and internationally, having chaired the U.S. National Commission on Mathematics Instruction, a commission of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and served two terms on the board of the AERA SIG-Research in Mathematics Education. She is also involved in international, comparative research on mathematics curriculum, currently collaborating with researchers from Belgium, Sweden, and Finland.

Dr. Ok-Kyeong Kim is a Professor of mathematics education at Western Michigan University, USA. Kim has taught elementary school in South Korea, and preservice teachers in elementary and middle school levels in the United States. She has conducted research on teaching and learning of mathematics in elementary and middle school classrooms. She has also investigated developing and using mathematical thinking and reasoning in school and non-school settings. Dr. Kim’s current research centers on the role of teacher and curriculum resources in mathematics instruction and the relationship among teacher, curriculum, and instruction that supports students’ learning of mathematics. She is particularly interested in teacher knowledge and capacity needed for using curricular resources productively to teach mathematics, and curricular support for mathematics teaching and learning. Currently, she is designing and examining systematic ways that support preservice and inservice teachers to develop their knowledge and capacity to use curricular resources productively.