2013 Conference Proceedings - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

propose an alternative where students engage in content that builds creative problem solving andsense making and also learn the explicit skills needed to be successful in such an environment.Researchers in mathematics education have just begun to explore what this middle ground mightlook like. In particular, Boaler (2002) has suggested that the fact that some reform practices maydisadvantage some students does not necessarily mean that traditional practices would providemore learning opportunities for these same students. Instead of labeling the curriculum asinappropriate or claiming there is something lacking in the students, Boaler (2002) suggests thatteachers need to be supported in helping students acquire learning processes.MethodologyThe project was conducted at a public charter school that partners with the CurriculumResearch & Development Group (CRDG) at the University of Hawai‘i College of Education.Students are admitted through a stratified random selection process from a pool of applicants torepresent the broader public school population of the State ethnically and racially, socioeconomically,and with respect to prior achievement. We report on observations in grade 1(n = 10) * and one section of grade 6 (n = 26). The students have mathematics lessons every day,with the typical mathematics session for all grade levels lasting 45 minutes.Measure Up (MU) is a K–5 program used at the charter school that introduces topics throughthe context of continuous measure, enabling young students to reason algebraically aboutrelationships and build an understanding of mathematical structures (Slovin, Okazaki,Venenciano & Zenigami, 2007). In grades 6 and 7, the Reshaping Mathematics forUnderstanding (RMU) curriculum starts from a geometric approach and moves to an algebraicperspective as students progress through middle grades topics. The charter school uses bothprograms with their students, exclusively. Both curricula were developed at CRDG and useproblem solving to introduce new concepts and develop understanding starting from a conceptuallevel and moving to a skill level over time. Tasks in both programs are designed such thatchildren of diverse abilities are able to access and respond to challenging mathematics problems.The project design comprised three phases. In the first phase, before observing mathematicsclasses, team members reviewed the curricula. The intent of this examination was to give specialeducation faculty team members an opportunity to preview the content and tasks students are* Grades K – 5 in this charter school have 10 students in each grade. Students are grouped in K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 gradespans except for mathematics, which is single grade taught.Proceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 199