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The mathematical knowledge and beliefs of elementary mathematics specialist-coaches

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Abstract

This paper reports on one aspect of a larger research project conducted in the United States that designed and implemented an elementary mathematics, specialist-coach preparation program and evaluated the effect of qualified specialist-coaches on student achievement. The paper discusses a conceptual framework for coaching in which a specialist-coach is to serve as a “more knowledgeable other” for a community of practice in a school, and ultimately to impact both the knowledge and professional practice of teachers and the school’s mathematics program as a whole. Specialist-coaches have unique opportunities and challenges in this daunting task, and the paper discusses one program designed to prepare well-respected teachers for the transition to the role and responsibilities of a specialist-coach. The reported analyses document changes in specialist-coaches’ mathematical content knowledge, mathematical knowledge for teaching, and beliefs regarding mathematics teaching and learning over the preparation program and during the specialist-coaches’ first years of service in a school. These specialist-coaches’ mathematical content knowledge grew and their beliefs became more aligned with a Making Sense perspective during the preparation program, and their changed state persisted throughout 2–3 years of service as specialist-coaches. Evidence addressing the specialist-coaches’ mathematical knowledge for teaching was mixed, but suggested that growth occurred both during the preparation program and in their first year of coaching, stabilizing in the years following.

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Acknowledgments

This work was developed through the support of grants from the National Science Foundation, Grant No. ESI 0353360 and DRL 0918223. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, Room 2226 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    Patricia F. Campbell

  2. American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Washington DC, 20007, USA

    N. N. Malkus

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  1. Patricia F. Campbell
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Correspondence to Patricia F. Campbell.

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Campbell, P.F., Malkus, N.N. The mathematical knowledge and beliefs of elementary mathematics specialist-coaches. ZDM Mathematics Education 46, 213–225 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-013-0559-6

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