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Changing practice, changing minds, from arithmetical to algebraic thinking: an application of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM)

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Abstract

This study examines the process of change among grade 4 teachers (students aged 9–10 years) who participated in a yearlong Teacher Quality Grant innovation program. The concerns-based adoption model (CBAM), which informed the design and implementation of the program, was used to examine the process of change. Two questions guided the investigation: (1) How did teachers’ concerns about and levels of use of the innovation evolve during the course of the project? (2) What changes in teachers’ perceptions and practices arose as a result of the innovation? Results showed that several of the teachers’ concerns evolved from self/task toward impact. With continued support, several participants achieved routine levels of use, which they sustained beyond the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Texas, P.O. Box 310740, Denton, 76203, TX, USA

    Jeanne Tunks

  2. Department of Mathematics, Ferris State University, ASC 2021, 820 Campus Drive, Big Rapids, MI, 49307, USA

    Kirk Weller

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  1. Jeanne Tunks
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  2. Kirk Weller
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Correspondence to Jeanne Tunks.

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Tunks, J., Weller, K. Changing practice, changing minds, from arithmetical to algebraic thinking: an application of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM). Educ Stud Math 72, 161–183 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-009-9189-x

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