The relationship between beliefs and practices of mathematics teachers who use a standards-based curriculum.

Abstract

The NCTM Standards encourage classroom teachers to teach rigorous mathematical content to all students using problem solving, reasoning, and communication. One particular high school curriculum, Core-Plus, embodies both the process and content standards included in the NCTM Standards. As teachers work with any curriculum, their beliefs play a role in the implementation of the curriculum and their daily practices. This study looks at the relationship between beliefs and practices of five high school teachers at Suburban High School who are using Core-Plus. The setting of this study is noteworthy because the entire district containing Suburban High School has used Standards-based curricula for over 10 years at all grade levels. There appears to be a compatible relationship between beliefs of the teachers and their practices with Core-Plus. Results indicate that several other factors, such as teacher collaboration, state standards, and students, are highly influential on these teachers‟ practices and these results provide a framework for looking at implementation of new curricula.