Middle School Teachers' Interpretations and Use of Geometric Curriculum Materials: Focused on the Three Aspects Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated how middle school teachers belonging to a teacher community interpret curriculum materials (CMs), and how this was related to their use when designing geometric tasks for regular lessons. We focused on the tasks designed by two participants three times and analyzed the discussion of the teacher community, whether the teacher’s interpretation was maintained or changed, and how this related to their CMs use. We used an analytic framework which included three aspects of teachers’ interpretation of CMs: mathematical, pedagogical, and environmental. And we classified their use of CMs into inclusion, modification, omission, and creation. Teachers designed the tasks based on mathematical, pedagogical, and environmental interpretation. And they selectively reflected the interpretation of other aspects raised in the teacher community. For the tasks created based on mathematical or environmental interpretation in the initial design, other interpretations were raised by the teacher community, but were not reflected. If the teacher accepted the pedagogical interpretation raised by the teacher community, the teacher modified or omitted tasks in the next design.

Keywords

• teacher’s interpretation of curriculum materials
• teacher’s use of curriculum materials
• three aspects analysis
• teacher community
• similarity
• triangle’s circumcenter