CENTRAL OFFICE MATHEMATICAL SURVEY

By completing the survey you are agreeing to have the information used in a study regarding mathematics, teaching, and learning on the secondary level.

Name _________________________________________

Gender: ___male  ___female   School District :_____________________________

 

Please indicate the grade band for the high schools:

ð       8-12

ð       9-12

ð       10-12

ð       Other

Please indicate the number of years you have been in education:

ð       0-5

ð       5-10

ð       10-15

ð       15-20

ð       Greater than 20

Please indicate the number of years you have been a central office administrator:

ð       0-5

ð       5-10

ð       10-15

ð       15-20

ð       Greater than 20

Your level of formal education is:

ð       Bachelors plus Administrative certificate

ð       Masters

ð       Masters plus Administrative certificate

ð       Ph.D

ð       Ed.D

As an educator your subject area is:

ð       Mathematics

ð       English

ð       History

ð       Science

ð       Fine Arts

ð       Physical Education

ð       Business

ð       Special Education

ð        Other

ð         

ð         

ð         

 

Number of Mathematics Teachers in your school:

 

Number of the teachers with the following degrees:

______Bachelors in Mathematics

______Bachelors in Mathematics Education

______Masters degree

______Masters degree +

______PhD

______Other

 

Define “Best Practices in the mathematics classroom”

 

 

 

 

 

Define the “opportunity to learn” rigorous mathematics for all students.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Doing Mathematics” means:

ð       Students working on textbook questions

ð       Students working on problems using multiple methods

ð       Students working on word problems from the textbook to practice procedural skills

ð       Students working on handouts focused on procedural skills

ð       Students working on relevant word problems, justifying and problem solving

ð       Students working in groups with specific tasks, solving a problem through research and applying knowledge learned.

Additional comments about “Doing Mathematics”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average number of professional learning sessions in mathematics attended per year by high school teachers.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of professional learning sessions you provide per year in mathematics.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of collaborative planning sessions you attend per year in mathematics.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of mathematics department meetings you attend per year in mathematics.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of times you have coached teachers on issues of content.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of times you have coached teachers on issues of instructional practices.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of times you have discussed student mathematics work with teachers.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

Average number of times a mathematics classroom is observed.

ð      0-1

ð   2-4

ð   >5

What is your process for giving teachers feedback on observations:

ð       Face to face

ð       Written

ð       Email

ð       Through Administrators

ð       Do not provide feedback

 

In general the level of rigor in the high school mathematics classrooms is:

ð       Below state standards

ð       Meets state standards

ð       Above state standards

 

In general mathematics teachers focus on:

ð       Memorizing procedures

ð       Procedures without applications

ð       Procedures with applications

ð       Doing mathematics

 

Indicate which of the following items are important to you as an administrator with respect to mathematics, teaching, and learning by stating the  

·        percentage of time that the item is observable in the classroom, and

·        percentage of time you, as an administrator, would like to see it happening.

If the item is not observable in mathematics classroom but you feel it is important indicate by completing the percentage you would like to see it happening.

% Observable

Topic

% Goal

% Observable

Topic

% Goal

 

Equity (race, gender)

 

 

Student engagement

 

 

Encouraging multiple approaches to a problem

 

 

Students making connections between mathematical concepts or  to the real world

 

 

Students applying multiple representations to answer problems

 

 

Students justifying their responses.

 

 

Students collaborating to solve problems

 

 

Opportunities to learn rigorous mathematics (same level of cognitive demand between classes of the same course)

 

 

Teacher applying multiple representations to answer problems.

 

 

Students discussing mathematics concepts

 

 

Students applying problem solving skills

 

 

Teachers using questions to solicit justifications.

 

 

Do you, as the central office mathematics leader, have a goal(s) for high school teachers, mathematics teaching and learning for this year?

ð   Yes

ð   No

    If so, please state the goal(s):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do mathematics teachers at each school in your district have collaborative planning time for each course built into the daily/weekly schedule?

ð   Yes

__# of Schools

ð   No

__# of Schools

 

 

During collaborative planning sessions do teachers:

ð       Discuss content conceptually

ð       Discuss behavioral problems with the group

ð       Examine student work with the group

ð       Create common assessments per unit

ð       Discuss SOL data for students

ð       Plan for differentiation of content per unit of study

ð       Discuss content – procedural skills

ð       Create common assessments per grading period

ð       Determine the “big questions” per lessons or unit of study

ð       Focus on how to facilitate instruction (the how and why)

ð       Create pre-assessments for the year or unit of study

ð       Examine student assessment with the group

ð       Discuss common assessment data

ð       Discuss pre-assessment data

ð       Focus on sharing documents or handouts

ð       Research additional approaches to teaching the content

 

Classify mathematics teachers instructional practices on a scale from 0 – 10.

0      1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9     10

                 Innovative                                                                                              Traditional

 

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Process Standards are (check as many as you believe apply).

ð       Student engagement                      

ð       Communication

ð       Group work

ð       Multiple representations

ð       Tracking students to increase achievement

ð    Problem Solving

ð    Connections

ð    Rule of 5

ð    Differentiation

ð    Reasoning and justification

 

The following is based on an opportunity to learn mathematics being defined as teachers of the same course facilitating instruction at the same level of rigor and cognitive demand with high expectations for all students.

Teachers have participated in alignment of curriculum:   

ð    Vertically

ð    Horizontally

ð   Neither

Are teachers involved in creating and implementing programs to support opportunities to learn rigorous mathematics?

ð     Yes

ð     No

Teachers determine best practices for all students that adhere to the NCTM Process Standards to promote opportunities to learn rigorous mathematics?

ð     Yes

ð     No

Teacher’s personal goals reflect an understanding and a need to provide opportunities to learn rigorous mathematics?

ð     Yes

ð     No

Does the mathematics department goal(s) reflect an understanding and a need to provide opportunities to learn rigorous mathematics?

ð     Yes

ð     No

Teachers share a vision where all seek to improve instruction.

ð     Yes

ð     No

Teachers share a culture where all seek to improve instruction as well as grow professionally. 

ð     Yes

ð     No

Teacher beliefs correlate with a vision of equity

ð     Yes

ð     No

Teachers believe that all students have the ability to learn mathematics and apply concepts.

ð     Yes

ð     No

You, as an administrator, believe that all students have the ability to learn mathematics and apply concepts.

ð     Yes

ð     No

Tracking students help to insure that all students have an opportunity to learn rigorous mathematics?

ð     Yes

ð     No

Additional comments about understanding and providing an opportunity to learn mathematics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Name professional development sessions that you have attended and how they relate to mathematics content, teaching, or learning:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Administrator’s Survey

Instrument 17: Conceptions of Mathematics Inventory adapted from NSF: Teacher Enhancement (ESIE)

Project: High School Administrators Leading Mathematics Reform: Maintaining Equity, Providing Support, and Professional Development.

Purpose: To measure teacher's attitudes toward mathematics and toward the teaching and learning of mathematics.

Administered To: High school administrators 

Topics Covered:  Attitudes & Beliefs (Teacher/Faculty): academic profession, classroom management, content, methods, practical value, student understanding, teaching profession

Conceptions of Mathematics Inventory

I am interested in your thoughts about the field of mathematics. Your response to the following statements will help us understand how you think about mathematics. There is no right or wrong answer.  Just respond to your first reaction for each statement.

 

 

 

Read each item carefully and circle the response (strongly agree, agree, slightly agree, slightly disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree) which best describes your feelings about each item. While there is no time limit, do not spend too much time on any one item.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Slightly
Disagree

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Strongly
Agree

1.      There is always a rule to follow when solving a mathematical problem.

1

2

3

4

5

6

2.      Knowing why an answer is correct in mathematics is as important as getting a correct answer.

1

2

3

4

5

6

3.      When you learn something in mathematics, you know the mathematics learned will always stay the same.

1

2

3

4

5

6

4.      Learning to do mathematics problems is mostly a matter of memorizing the steps to follow.

1

2

3

4

5

6

5.      When two students don't agree on an answer in mathematics, they need to ask the teacher or check the book to see who is correct.

1

2

3

4

5

6

6.      Students need mathematics for their future work.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7.      Diagrams and graphs have little to do with other things in mathematics like operations and equations.

1

2

3

4

5

6

8.      If you cannot solve a mathematics problem quickly, then spending more time on it won't help.

1

2

3

4

5

6

9.      While formulas are important in mathematics, the ideas they represent are more useful.

1

2

3

4

5

6

10.  Justifying the statements a person makes is an important part of mathematics.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Slightly
Disagree

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Strongly
Agree

11.  New mathematics is always being invented.

1

2

3

4

5

6

12.  Mathematics has very little to do with students' lives.

1

2

3

4

5

6

13.  Often a single mathematical concept will explain the basis for a variety of formulas.

1

2

3

4

5

6

14.  Memorizing formulas and steps is not that helpful for learning how to solve mathematics problems.

1

2

3

4

5

6

15.  You know something is true in mathematics when it is in a book or an instructor tells you.

1

2

3

4

5

6

16.  When working mathematics problems, it is important that what you are doing makes sense to you.

1

2

3

4

5

6

17.  Mathematicians work with symbol rather than ideas.

1

2

3

4

5

6

18.  Learning mathematics involves memorizing information presented to you.

1

2

3

4

5

6

19.  Finding solutions to one type of mathematics problem cannot help you solve other types of problems.

1

2

3

4

5

6

20.  Mathematics is a worthwhile subject for students.

1

2

3

4

5

6

21.  New discoveries are seldom made in mathematics.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Slightly
Disagree

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Strongly
Agree

22.  When learning mathematics, it is helpful to analyze your mistakes.

1

2

3

4

5

6

23.  Taking mathematics is a waste of time for students.

1

2

3

4

5

6

24.  Mathematics involves more thinking about relationships among things such as numbers, points, and lines than working with separate ideas.

1

2

3

4

5

6

25.  Computation and formulas are only a small part of mathematics.

1

2

3

4

5

6

26.  It is important to convince yourself of the truth of a mathematical statement rather than to rely on the word to others.

1

2

3

4

5

6

27.  The field of mathematics is always growing and changing.

1

2

3

4

5

6

28.  You can only find out that an answer to a mathematics problem is wrong when it is different from the book's answer or when the instructor tells you.

1

2

3

4

5

6

29.  Being able to use formulas well is enough to understand the mathematical concept behind the formula.

1

2

3

4

5

6

30.  Asking questions in mathematics class means you didn't listen to the instructor well enough.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Slightly
Disagree

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Strongly
Agree

31.  There is little in common between the different mathematical topics you have studied, like measurement and fractions.

1

2

3

4

5

6

32.  Understanding the statements a person makes is an important part of mathematics.

1

2

3

4

5

6

33.  Learning computational skills, like addition and multiplication, is more important than learning to solve problems.

1

2

3

4

5

6

34.  Knowing mathematics will help students earn a living.

1

2

3

4

5

6

35.  When you do an exploration in mathematics, you can only discover something already known.

1

2

3

4

5

6

36.  Mathematics will not be important to students in their life's work.

1

2

3

4

5

6

37.  Concepts learned in one mathematics class can help you understand material in the next mathematics class.

1

2

3

4

5

6

38.  If you knew every possible formula, then you could easily solve any mathematical problem.

1

2

3

4

5

6

39.  In mathematics there are many problems that can't be solved by following a given set of steps.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Slightly
Disagree

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Strongly
Agree

40.  When two classmates don't agree on an answer, they can usually think through the problem together until they have a reason for what is correct.

1

2

3

4

5

6

41.  Mathematics consists of many unrelated topics.

1

2

3

4

5

6

42.  Sometimes when you learn new mathematics, you have to change ideas you have previously learned.

1

2

3

4

5

6

43.  When you learn mathematics, it is essential to compare new ideas to those you already know.

1

2

3

4

5

6

44.  Mathematics today is the same as it was when your parents were growing up.

1

2

3

4

5

6

45.  In mathematics, the instructor has the answer and it is the student's job to figure it out.

1

2

3

4

5

6

46.  Students will use mathematics in many ways as adults.

1

2

3

4

5

6

47.  You can only learn mathematics when someone shows you how to work a problem.

1

2

3

4

5

6

48.  One can be quite successful at doing mathematics without understanding it.

1

2

3

4

5

6

49.  The field of mathematics is for the most part made up of procedures and facts.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Strongly
Disagree

Disagree

Slightly
Disagree

Slightly
Agree

Agree

Strongly
Agree

50.  Most mathematical ideas are related to one another.

1

2

3

4

5

6

51.  Essential mathematical knowledge is primarily composed of ideas and concepts.

1

2

3

4

5

6

52.  When one's method of solving a mathematics problem is different from the instructor's method, both methods can be correct.

1

2

3

4

5

6

53.  Students should expect to have little use for mathematics when they get out of school.

1

2

3

4

5

6

54.  Students can make new mathematical discoveries, as well as study mathematicians' discoveries.

1

2

3

4

5

6

55.  Learning mathematics involves more thinking than remembering information.

1

2

3

4

5

6

56.  Solving a problem in mathematics is more a matter of understanding than remembering.

1

2

3

4

5

6