2013 Conference Proceedings - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Data collection consisted of tests, background surveys, journal article reviews, and dailyreflections, where daily reflections were the main basis for the findings. Gathering the test andbackground survey information were for triangulation purposes (Merriam, 1998). On the firstday of class, inservice teachers completed a 25-question open-ended geometry test. Participantsalso completed a technology and a standards-based knowledge survey about their backgroundfamiliarity with certain types of mathematics technology (e.g., graphing calculators) andstandards-based pedagogy (e.g., the use of manipulatives and cooperative learning). Based ontheir test scores and survey information, the instructors gauged what topics needed moreattention than others. Another form of data collection consisted of journal article reviews, whereparticipants reviewed an article of their choosing from NCTM’s Mathematics Teaching in theMiddle School. Lastly, at the end of each class meeting, inservice teachers would utilize acomputer lab and reflect through Edmodo, an internet data collection source, where participantswere able to respond to 2-3 questions posed by the instructors. While most questions focused onthe participants’ opinions about daily activities in their usefulness in their classrooms, some weremotivated from research, such as the following:Explain how you feel the use of children's literature will impact students' understandingof mathematics. Make sure to include any personal experience you may have withutilizing literature in your mathematics classroom or from your schooling (Wilburne &Napoli, 2008).After collecting all the data, the researcher utilized Nvivo, a qualitative software tool, to codethe data and search for themes. Open coding techniques (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) allowed theresearcher to compile a list of codes for reporting findings.FindingsBased on data analysis of daily reflections and journal article reviews, the researcher foundall participants open to the idea of utilizing children’s literature in the classroom. Fourteen of the18 inservice teachers had already used literature to some extent to teach. For example, Kyla, ateacher for 3.5 years, detailed ways in which fictional books come alive in her classroom.My 7th and 8th graders love reading those types of books [mathematics focused] becausethey get to sit on the floor and talk about what's happening in the book. We also useAnno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar (Anno & Anno, 1999) when we start talking aboutProceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 128