Explaining Dimensions of Middle School Mathematics Teachers’ Use of Textbooks

Abstract The purpose of the study was to describe middle school mathematics teachers’ use of textbooks. For this purpose, the Use of Mathematics Textbooks Questionnaire was distributed to 531 middle school mathematics teachers. The results of the study showed that teachers used the student edition textbook during the class and prior to class; and mostly read it for the topic, but rarely for problems and examples. Teachers frequently selected questions from the workbook that were not included in the student edition textbook. They frequently used questions in the workbook similar to the ones in the high school entrance exam questions. They used the teacher edition textbook to read the curriculum objectives and to prepare for the class but they very rarely tended to look up the answers of the questions from the teacher edition textbook. They frequently used auxiliary books to select questions that were not included in the student edition textbook. Key words: mathematics textbooks, mathematics teachers’ use of textbooks, middle school Özet Bu çalışmanın amacı, ilköğretim matematik öğretmenlerinin ders kitabı kullanımlarını tanımlamaktır. Bu amaçla, Matematik Öğretmenlerinin Ders Kitabı Kullanım Ölçeği, 531 ilköğretim matematik öğretmenine dağıtılmıştır. Çalışmanın sonuçları göstermektedir ki, öğretmenler ders kitabını sıklıkla derse hazırlık sürecinde ve ders sırasında kullanırken nadiren problemler ve örnekler için kullanmaktadır. Öğretmenler özellikle konunun günlük hayatla ilişkilendirilmesi, diğer derslerle bağlantı kurulması, konu sırasının takibi için ders kitabından faydalanmaktadır. Öğretmenler, çoğunlukla çalışma kitabında bulunan merkezi sınav sorularına benzer soruları kullanmaktadır. Öğretmen kılavuzunu ise kazanımlara bakmak ve derse hazırlık yapmak için kullanmaktadır. Bununla beraber, öğretmenler yardımcı kitapları merkezi sınav sorularına benzer soruları ve ders kitabında olmayan soruları yardımcı kitaplardan seçmek için kullanmaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: matematik ders kitabı, ilköğretim matematik öğretmenlerinin ders kitabı kullanımları

___

  • Adler, J. (2000). Conceptualising resources as a theme for teacher education. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 3(3), 205–224.
  • Ball, D. L., & D. K. Cohen (1996). Reform by the book: What is — or might be — the role of curriculum materials in teacher learning and instructional reform? Educational Researcher 25(9), 6-8.
  • Beaton, A. E., Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Gonzalez, E. J., Kelly, D. L., & Smith, T. (1996). Mathematics achievement in middle school years: IEA’s Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Boston, MA: Centre for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy, Boston College.
  • Brown, M. W. (2009). The Teacher-tool relationship: Theorizing the design and use of curriculum materials. In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp.17-36). New York: Routledge.
  • Collopy, R. (2003). Curriculum materials as a professional development tool: How a mathematics textbook affected two teachers’ learning. Elementary School Journal, 103(3), 287–311.
  • Cohen, D., Raudenbush, S., & Ball, D. (2003). Resources, instruction, and research. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 25(2), 119-142.
  • Dinçer, B., Özaslan, M., & Kavasoğlu, T.(2003), İllerin ve bölgelerin sosyo-ekonomik gelişmişlik siralamasi araştırması 2003, Devlet Planlama Teşkilatı Yayınları.
  • Doerr, H. M., & Chandler-Olcott, K. (2009). Negotiating the literacy demands ofstandards-based curriculum materials:A site for teachers’ learning. In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp.283-301). New York: Routledge.
  • Durwin, C. C., & Sherman, W. M. (2008). Does choice of college textbook make a difference in students’ comprehension? College Teaching, 56(1), 28-34.
  • Eisenmann, T., & Even, R. (2009). Similarities and differences in the types of algebraic activities in two classes taught by the same teacher. In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp. 152-170). New York: Routledge.
  • Fan, L. ,Chen, J., Zhu, Y. Qiu, X., & Hu, J. (2004). Textbook use within and beyond mathematics classrooms: A study of 12 secondary schools in Kunming and Fuzhou of China. In L. Fan, N. Y.
  • Wong, J. Cai, & S. Li (Eds.), How Chinese learn mathematics: Perspectives from insiders (pp.228-262). Singapore: World Scientific.
  • Haggarty, L. & Pepin, B. (2002). An investigation of mathematics textbooks and their use in English, French and German Classrooms: Who Gets an Opportunity to Learn What? British Educational Research Journal, 28(4): 567-590.
  • Lloyd, G. M., Herbel-Eisenmann, B. A., & Remillard, J. T. (2005). Researching teachers’ use of mathematics curriculum materials: Advancing the research agenda. In G. M. Lloyd, M. Wilson, J.L. M. Wilkins, & S. L. Behm (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education [CDROM]. Eugene, OR: All Academic.
  • Özgeldi, M. (2012). Middle school mathematics teachers’ use of textbooks and integration of textbook tasks into practice: A mixed methods study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey.
  • Remillard, J. T. (1999). Curriculum materials in mathematics education reform: A framework for examining teachers’ curriculum development. Curriculum Inquiry, 29(3), 315–342.
  • Remillard, J. T. (2005). Examining key concepts in research on teachers’ use of mathematics curricula. Review of Educational Research, 75(2), 211–246.
  • Remillard, J. T. (2009). Considering what we know about the relationship between teachers and curriculum material. In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp.85-92). New York: Routledge.
  • Remillard, J. T., & Bryans, M. B. (2004). Teachers’ orientations toward mathematics curriculum materials: Implications for teacher learning. Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 35(5), 352–388.
  • Robitaille, D. F. & Travers, K.T. (1992).International studies of achievement in mathematics. In Douglas A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning (pp. 687-709). NY: Macmillan Publishing Co.
  • Schmidt, W. H., McKnight, C.C., & Raizen, S. A. (2002). A splintered vision: An investigation of U.S. science and mathematics education. New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow, Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  • Schmidt, W. H., McKnight, C.C., Valverde, G.A., Houang, R.T., & Wiley, D.E. (1997). Many visions, many aims: cross-national invention of curricular intentions in school mathematics (Vol. 1), Dordrecht: Kluwer.
  • Sherin, M. G., & Drake, C. (2004). Identifying patterns in teachers’ use of a reform-based elementary mathematics curriculum. Manuscript submitted for publication.
  • Stein, M. K., & Kim, G. (2009). The role of mathematics curriculum materials in large-scale urban reform.
  • In J. T. Remillard, B. A. Herbel-Eisenmann, & G. M. Lloyd (Eds.), Mathematics teachers at work: Connecting curriculum materials and classroom instruction (pp.37-55). New York: Routledge.
  • Törnroos, J. (2005). Mathematics textbooks, opportunity to learn and student achievement. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 31(4): 315–327.
  • Valverde, G. A., Bianchi, L. J., Wolfe, R. G., Schmidt, W. H., & Houang, R. T. (2002). According to the book. Using TIMSS to investigate the translation of policy into practice through the world of textbooks. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.