Disciplinary Content Knowledge

Work in secondary mathematics education takes many approaches to content, pedagogy, professional development and assessment. This session aims to illuminate the richness of hte content of secondary mathematics and the field of secondary mathematics education by sharing two such approaches and reflecting on the differences and commonalities between the two.   

Quality elementary science programs are faced with the challenge of adapting and/or building upon the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in order to provide an essential foundation for student learning and interest in science. As such, these science programs must address how the practices of science can be linked with cross-cutting concepts through meaningful learning contexts that, of necessity, evolve progressively across grades.

Over a period of five years the SmartGraphs project developed HTML5 software for teaching and learning STEM subjects that make use of line graphs and scatter plots. SmartGraphs activities help students understand the “story” represented by a graph. The project created dozens of activities for algebra, physical science, and other STEM subjects, as well as an authoring system allowing non-computer-programmers to create and disseminate free online activities.

In Assessing Secondary Teachers’ Algebraic Habits of Mind, the project team is developing tools to study the following questions: What are the mathematical habits of mind (MHoM) that secondary teachers use, how do they use them, and how can we measure them?

In this session, presenters share a paper-and-pencil assessment being developed to measure how teachers use MHoM when they do mathematics for themselves. The presenters also share classroom video and a preliminary framework for examining MHoM in teaching practice.