Reading “High School Algebra Students Busting the Myth about Mathematical Smartness: Counterstories to the Dominant Narrative “Get It Quick and Get It Right””

Dunleavy 2018, “High School Algebra Students Busting the Myth about Mathematical Smartness: Counterstories to the Dominant Narrative “Get It Quick and Get It Right””.  Education Sciences.

I’m reading a paper about a high school Algebra I course that uses the principles of “complex instruction” (which I still need to look up).  The article highlights how students in the class, through their group process, made time for multiple solution strategies (so were not racing to complete problems), valued explanations and justification, felt “assigned competence” by their teacher (validating their contributions), and saw it as their role to help each other.

For more on complex instruction (references cited in the paper):

  1. Boaler, J.; Staples, M. Creating mathematical futures through an equitable Teaching Approach: The Case of Railside School. Teach. Coll. Record 2008, 110, 608–645.
  2. Jilk, L.M.; Erickson, S. Shifting students’ beliefs about competence by integrating mathematics strengths into tasks and participation norms. In Access and Equity: Promoting High-Quality Mathematics in Grades 6–8; Fernandes, A., Crespo, S., Civil, M., Eds.; NCTM: Reston, VA, USA, 2017; pp. 11–26
  3. Dunleavy, T.K. Delegating Mathematical Authority as a means to Strive toward Equity. JUME 2015, 8, 62–82
  4. Featherstone, H.; Crespo, S.; Jilk, L.M.; Oslund, J.A.; Parks, A.N.; Wood, M.B. Smarter Together! Collaboration nd Equity in the Elementary Math Classroom; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Reston, VA, USA, 2011.
  5. Horn, I.S. Strength in Numbers: Collaborative Learning in the Secondary Classroom; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: Reston, VA, USA, 2012
  6. Cohen, E.; Lotan, R. Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom, 3rd ed.; Teachers College Press: New York, NY, USA, 2014
  7. Cohen, E. Equity in heterogeneous classrooms: A challenge for teachers and sociologists. In Working for Equity in Heterogeneous Classrooms: Sociological Theory in Practice; Cohen, E.G., Lotan, R.A., Eds.; Teachers College Press: New York, NY, USA, 1997; pp. 3–14.
  8. Dunleavy, T.K. “Ms. Martin is secretly teaching us!” High school Mathematics Practices of a Teacher Striving toward Equity. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA, 2013
  9. Horn, I. Fast kids, slow kids, lazy kids: Framing the mismatch problem in mathematics teachers’ conversations. J. Learn. Sci. 2007, 16, 37–79.