Authors Retrospective Reflections on Designing Opportunities for Student Learning

Abstract

This volume presents our analysis of five elementary mathematics curriculum programs from three perspectives that have implications for teachers’ use of them: mathematical emphasis, pedagogical approaches, and how authors communicate with teachers. In this chapter, we offer perspectives on these design features from the vantage point of three teams of curriculum authors. Drawing on extensive conversations with the author teams, we describe their reflections on several major design decisions, including mathematical goals and sequencing, pedagogical approach, and communicating intentions to teachers. Our aim is to highlight the relationship between curriculum authors’ intention, their subsequent design decisions, and the resulting curriculum resource. By using the curriculum authors’ voices, we attempt to highlight their intentions, positions, and reflections. We also describe the ongoing process of curriculum development and the evolving nature of curriculum, along with challenges the curriculum authors faced. In doing so, we seek to juxtapose our analysis of the designed curriculum materials with the authors’ intentions.