Research Report: Task Design and Implementation

Collaborative, student-centered, interactive mathematics teaching engages students in sense-making. However, students unfamiliar with this type of mathematics instruction need guidance and support in learning how to engage in their mathematics class and learn in this way. Thus, in this session, we will explore strategies fostering students’ share in mathematical authority observed by everyday algebra teachers at the start of the school year to build their classroom culture fostering student engagement. You will also be able to share with others and learn about different strategies, including specific teacher moves, that teachers can use to develop and foster student engagement. 

The concept of curriculum ergonomics (Choppin et al., 2018) explores the intersection of curriculum design and teacher use. By focusing on the ergonomic alignment of tools to user needs, our study examines the design of resources that fit teachers’ practices and contexts. Departing from a material-centric approach, our research investigates teachers’ preferences and agency in selecting and using professional development (PD) resources. This shift is pivotal to our study as it addresses how ergonomically designed resources can effectively support teachers. We developed an incremental PD model that provides modest suggestions to enhance instructional practices, aiming for a broad yet manageable impact (Star, 2016). Our Algebra 1 PD centers on “instructional nudges” closely aligned with teachers’ existing practices, addressing their expressed needs for accessible, content-specific, quickly discernible, and ready-to-use materials. This session presents data from 40 teachers participating in PD, analyzing learning management system analytics and insights from participant interviews and surveys to understand engagement with these nudges. Our study demonstrates how a teacher-centric approach, rooted in curriculum ergonomics, can effectively support instructional improvements and enhance students' mathematical learning experiences.
 

This qualitative study examined two students' modeling work when provided with pre-existing model or a not very thorough model developed by someone else. We found that when modeling task is scaffolded with existing model and guided information, students engage in an Investigate-Revise-Create modeling process. During investigation, modelers make sense of the existing model, analyze it, and critic it to identify concerns in terms of manageable questions to answer to revise the model. During revision, modelers engage in modeling similar to the established modeling processes. However, we found that modelers went back and forth from investigating the existing model to revising it and thereby creating their owned artifacts. Thus, the iterative modeling process we observed with our participants signifies that novice modelers may have easy access into engaging in modeling processes since the question they answer is an issue they identify with the existing model to make it a more useful model. This sense of ownership makes the approach worthwhile and kept students in our study engaged throughout the modeling endeavor. Summarily, we found that scaffolded support enhances modeling engagement, allows students to be critical in their thinking and also improve their problem-solving abilities.