2013-14 7-12 Classroom Research Grants Recipient
Joel Craig Amidon
University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi
Creating space for advancing progressive teaching of mathematics
Joel Craig Amidon collaborating with Virginia Cornelius and Jenny Stubblefield, Lafayette High School, Oxford, Mississippi
Mathematics teachers are under pressure. Students need mathematics to have access to academic and economic opportunities beyond high school (or even to graduate from high school). Districts need test scores that demonstrate "adequate yearly progress" to avoid being taken over. The cumulative effect of this pressure can be that teachers refrain from making changes to improve their teaching practice at the risk of lowering their test scores or putting their students at a disadvantage. The primary purpose of this project is alleviate some of the risk associated with changing practice and, through the grant and the university researcher, provide the space, resources, and expertise for classroom teachers to study and advance their practice. The secondary purpose is to create a high-functioning professional learning community that will continue beyond this project.