Taking Charge of Curriculum

by Adams, Jacob E.; Lieberman, Ann

• ISBN13: 9780807739488
• ISBN10: 0807739480
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-01
• Publisher: Teachers College Pr

Summary

How do teachers adapt to the demands of curriculum change and new educational standards? How do they learn what is expected of them? In this pathbreaking work, Jacob Adams examines how a promising new professional structure, the teacher network, helped teachers implement a novel and challenging high school mathematics curriculum and how it fostered teachers' determination and ability to get the job done, when traditional staff development supports did not. Beginning with an in-depth examination of the demands of policy on practice, the author concludes with a practice-based model for professional development and curriculum implementation. An important contribution to the discourse on standards, school improvement, and professional development, this volume covers timely topics that are crucial to the understanding of how teachers can work most effectively in this time of curricular change.

Author Biography

Jacob E. Adams, Jr. is an associate professor of education and public policy at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, and a research fellow with the Peabody Center for Education Policy.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Ann Lieberman
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction	1	(6)
PART I Teacher Networks, Math Policy, and the Implementation Challenge
Educational Change and Teacher Networks	7	(23)
The Uncertainty of Educational Change	8	(3)
Teacher Needs and Implementation	11	(3)
Linking Policy and Practice Through Teacher Networks	14	(2)
What We Know About Teacher Networks	16	(4)
Why Networks May Be Important	20	(5)
Studying Networks and Curriculum Implementation	25	(5)
The Challenge of Implementating a State Mathematics Curriculum	30	(17)
State Math Policy as Systemic School Reform	32	(4)
State Policy as Classroom Change Agent	36	(3)
District Response and Classroom Practice	39	(4)
Implementation Challenges	43	(4)
PART II Curriculum Implementation in the Classroom
Town Halls, Solo Performers, and Clearinghouses: Implementation Results in Network and Other Classrooms	47	(36)
Teachers' Experience with Math A	48	(1)
Opportunities Created by Implementation Pilots	49	(3)
Teachers' Knowledge of Math A	52	(5)
Math A Content	57	(13)
Organization of Instruction	70	(3)
The Teacher's Role	73	(3)
Teachers' Commitment	76	(2)
Summary: Patterns of Implementation	78	(5)
PART III Explaining Implementation Differences
Comparing Teachers' Motivations	83	(33)
Teachers' Personal Goals	84	(6)
Teachers' Evaluations of Math A in Practice	90	(10)
Reaction of Parents and Math Professionals	100	(3)
Local Policy System Supports	103	(6)
Additional Motivating Factors	109	(2)
Motivation and Curriculum Implementation	111	(5)
Implementation Strategies and Teachers' Capacity	116	(36)
Staff Development as State Implementation Strategy	117	(5)
Staff Development-Based Implementation in Districts 2 and 3	122	(4)
A Support-Group Component	126	(1)
A Network Implementation Strategy	127	(16)
Discussion	143	(9)
The Contribution of Teacher Networks: Linking Policy, Practice, and Professional Development	152	(27)
Learning and Math A Implementation	152	(6)
Implementation and Math A Practice	158	(2)
The Network's Contribution to Implementation	160	(12)
Linkages and Future Questions	172	(2)
Policy Implications and Conclusions	174	(5)
Appendix A: Study Methods	179	(12)
Appendix B: Semistructured Teacher Interview Guide	191	(3)
Appendix C: Coding Schedule	194	(5)
Notes	199	(4)
References	203	(10)
Index	213	(14)
About the Author	227