MAKING MEANING OF ALGEBRA 2 TEACHERS: A CASE STUDY OF ONE SCHOOL

Abstract

As the variety of curriculum materials available to teachers multiplies, understandings of the process by which mathematics teachers make meaning of curriculum materials must be revisited and revised. Rather than beginning with a single text that serves as a primary source of curriculum, mathematics teachers must interweave multiple curriculum materials, written by multiple sources for multiple purposes with multiple audiences in mind. This case study uses as social constructivist view to investigate the processes by which secondary mathematics teachers make meaning of curriculum. This process is examined using multiple lenses including transactional theory, metacognitive theory, and a critical perspective. In particular, this case study examined one professional learning community consisting of four mathematics educators and one special educator who taught Algebra 2 at a large suburban high school in a southern plains state who routinely made meanings from both familiar and unfamiliar curriculum materials during the 2016-2017 school year. Data collection included interviews, think-aloud sessions, observations of individual and collaborative planning session as well as lesson, and document analysis of the curriculum materials used by the participating teachers. Analysis of these data reveal that these teachers participate in a highly complex system of meaning-making best viewed as a transactional system consisting of teachers, students, curriculum materials, and local contexts which act on and through each of the other aspects.