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The Role of Reform Curricular Materials in an Internship: The Case of Alice and Gregory

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Abstract

This report describes a case study of asecondary school mathematics internship wheremost of the elements of the internship ecologywere aligned with calls by the National Councilof Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] for reform.Much research has been done on the lack ofimpact of teacher education programs on teacherclassroom behavior. Often this results fromdissonance between the philosophy and goals ofuniversity teacher education programs and thoseof schools. The case documented here offers aninstance of alignment between the universityprogram and the school internship site. Thefindings showed that within this supportiveatmosphere the reform curricular materialsbeing used in the classroom had a strong andlargely positive influence on the character ofthe internship experience, and on the intern'slearning. The form and content of the materials– Core-Plus Mathematics Project'sContemporary Mathematics in Context –supported reform-oriented development for theintern by providing particular foci to theplanning discussions between the intern and thementor. These areas of focus were: (a) themathematics content itself, (b) conceptualunderstanding as a main goal for instruction,and (c) the use of questioning as the bestmeans of guiding students to thatunderstanding. The findings highlight theimportance of developing reform-supportiveenvironments for intern teaching placements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, U.S.A.

    Laura R. Van Zoest

  2. Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center, 765 Upton Ave., Battle Creek, MI, 49015, U.S.A.

    Jeffrey V. Bohl

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  1. Laura R. Van Zoest
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  2. Jeffrey V. Bohl
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Van Zoest, L.R., Bohl, J.V. The Role of Reform Curricular Materials in an Internship: The Case of Alice and Gregory. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education 5, 265–288 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1019816329185

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