Abstract
This chapter will examine the impact of developing mathematics teacher leaders after completion of the Mathematics Specialist graduate certificate program. Specifically, it reviews how their teaching of mathematics changed and what factors helped them to become teacher leaders in their school and district. The chapter will include three parts. The first part will focus on what an elementary mathematics specialist is and why there is a need for leadership in this area within schools and districts. The second part will describe testimonials and stories of graduates of the Mathematics Specialist graduate certificate program and what impact it had on their teaching of mathematics and becoming a mathematics specialist leader. The third part of the chapter will conclude with the mathematics leadership framework and examine the characteristics and challenges these teacher-leaders face as both early childhood teachers and mathematics leaders.
TopIntroduction
There is a great need for early childhood classroom teachers to become mathematics specialist leaders, but how does that leadership develop and how is it implemented within early childhood classrooms? Most early childhood teachers are generalists that teach all subject areas in their classroom and may not have the necessary pedagogical content knowledge in mathematics (Dunphy, 2009 & Knaus, 2017) needed to provide high-quality instruction to early childhood students. In addition, given the limited instructional time during the day, early childhood teachers may have to decide which content areas are essential in being taught. Many early childhood teachers rate mathematics as significantly less important than literacy (Blevins-Knabe, Musun-Miller, & Jones, 2000). Therefore, there is a great need for mathematical specialist leaders to provide mentoring to early childhood teachers so they can learn and develop their own mathematical instruction to best meet the needs of their students (Kowalski, PrettiFrontczak, & Johnson, 2001).
Mathematics specialist leaders are needed to provide in-depth mathematics knowledge and expertise at the primary grade level. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) describes the importance of these professionals working with teachers as, “teacher-leaders can have a significant influence by assisting teachers in building their mathematical and pedagogical knowledge. Teacher-leaders also need support on a day-to-day basis ranging from conversations in the hall to in-classroom coaching to regular grade-level and departmental seminars focused on how students learn mathematics” (NCTM, 2017, p. 2). All of these components are necessary to develop a supportive and ongoing, nurturing environment for the early childhood teacher.
In recent years, the mathematics specialist leader model has been used in schools to assume mentoring and leadership responsibilities at the building or district level (Ohanian, 1998; Rowan & Campbell, 1995). These specialist leaders provide support to regular classroom teachers such as planning; demonstration teaching; co-teaching; observation of teaching, with follow-up feedback; and providing professional development training in mathematics (Reys, & Fennell, 2003). Many of these mathematics teacher leaders follow the leadership framework based on the premise of the Mathematics Specialists & Teacher Leader Project (MS & TL), (Fennell et al., 2013). This framework is composed of three, inter-linking parts; adult learning, navigating relationships, and coaching. The framework will be further discussed in this chapter.
The Mathematics Specialist graduate certificate program provides deeper mathematical content knowledge and allows early childhood teachers to connect their graduate coursework with their day-to-day mathematical instruction in their own classrooms. In 2013, this graduate program was developed in collaboration with five major universities in Missouri as a way to meet the demands to improve mathematical teaching and learning. This chapter will explore the development of the mathematics specialist leader model, specifically within early childhood grade levels. This chapter will also describe the impact graduates from the Mathematics Specialist graduate program experienced that helped them become leaders at their school, district, state, and national levels. This chapter contributes to the field of early childhood teacher leadership by highlighting the need for educating and supporting these mathematics specialist leaders, as they work with other early childhood teachers throughout Missouri.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE): DESE is the primary education administration agency for Missouri. This agency leads and guides educators, legislators, government agencies, community leaders, and Missouri residents to uphold the public education system.
Servant Leadership: A servant leader focuses primarily on the growth and well-being of people and the communities to which they belong. A servant leader puts the needs of teachers and students first and helps develop their teaching and learning potential.
Educational Leadership: This type of leadership involves working with and guiding teachers to improve their educational instruction. Educational leaders typically have advanced training on how to mentor and communicate with teachers, administrators, and parents on improving best practices in the classroom to increase student achievement and academic comprehension.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM): The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is the world’s largest mathematics education organization. The mission of this organization is to provide high-quality mathematics teaching and learning for students and teachers in grades K-12. The principles and standards for school mathematics are the guiding components to support high-quality mathematics for students, teachers, administrations, community leaders and parents.
Mathematics Specialist Leader: A Mathematics Specialist Leader is a teacher who has specialized training that is focused on developing expertise in mathematics content, pedagogy, and leadership at the elementary school level. The career path of a Mathematics Specialist is varied depending on a school district’s needs and the interests of the math specialist. Some opportunities a math specialist might pursue are a mathematics coach, a mathematics curriculum director, a numeracy coach, a mathematics interventionist, or a teacher-leader who remains in the classroom as a resource for colleagues.
EMS and TL Leadership Framework: The Elementary Mathematics Specialists and Teacher Leader (EMS & TL) Project was founded in 2009 and continued through 2018. The Brookhill Institute of Mathematics supports the project. The project has expanded beyond Maryland and now maintains a well-respected clearinghouse for mathematics specialists throughout the nation. The project also supports the collaborative work of a core group of central Maryland’s elementary mathematics specialists who reflect on successes and challenges in their own work as a math specialist. The project continues to expand opportunities for elementary mathematics specialists at a national level by providing professional development for the specialists at the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM) and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The project continues to examine the impact of the work of mathematics specialists.
Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK): Pedagogical content knowledge is the overlapping part of a teacher’s mathematical content knowledge and a teacher’s pedagogical knowledge of teaching and learning. Having a strong PCK enables a teacher to choose appropriate instructional strategies (e.g. games, manipulatives, technology) embedded within a structure (e.g. cooperative learning, inquiry, problem-solving) to successfully deliver the mathematics content. A person who has great knowledge in mathematics may still not possess pedagogical content knowledge.