TMI
Thinking About Mathematics Instruction


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TMI is a project in EDC's Center
for the Development of Teaching

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Funded by the
National Science Foundation
Grant EHR-0335384

 

© Education Development Center, 2006-2008

Thinking About Mathematics Instruction
Leadership Content Knowledge
Elementary and Middle School Principals’ Survey

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview and comparison of the Pre- and Post-surveys
  3. Pre-Survey
  4. Post-Survey
  5. Assembling Your Own Mathematics Content Knowledge Section
  6. Coding Schemes and Sample Responses
  7. Validity and Reliability Considerations

Sample for MATH-IN-USE Category A: No Math

Click here to view all of the MIU Coding Categories with Indicators.

A. No Math

Comments are not grounded in mathematics. They could be about language arts, social studies, science, etc.

  1. No mention of math at all
  2. Respondent says words like math, numbers, problems, number sense, problem-solving, manipulatives. These words are isolated, not in context and not part of a mathematically meaningful statement.
  3. Respondent provides a non-mathematical rationale for using the pizza as an example, such as real-world context is a good teaching move.
 

Sample to illustrate Category A: No Math
Note that all samples represent a principal's entire response and are taken verbatim from study principals' repsonses

 

a.

The teacher was having students go through the thought process. This is good teaching, because it fosters student engagement, sharing perspectives and higher-level thinking skills.

b.

The teacher was looking for clarification from students. This was good teaching, because the student was responsible for explaining their thought process and answer.

c.

The teacher asked students to solve problems with different scenarios. This is not effective teaching because the teacher is assuming that the students understand concept. There should be different levels of learning amongst the class.