Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2006

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Kevin Bolinger

Second Advisor

Susan M. Powers

Third Advisor

Marylin S. Leinenbach

Abstract

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics determined there were several concepts or "standards" needed for quality teaching of math. While few dispute their importance, little support and resources are provided to help teachers understand and meet these standards. Long term professional development which focuses on how to teach with these standards could play a crucial role in improving the academic achievement of students. In this study, professional development opportunities were provided for teachers to explore the various elements of mathematics and develop a better understanding of how to teach them. The main purpose of the research was to study the effects of this professional development on student achievement in fourth and fifth grade mathematics classrooms through three years of intervention. Teachers representing approximately 1530 fourth grade and 1539 fifth grade students participated in a week long Summer Professional Development workshop to learn hands-on mathematics methodology and how to write Standards-based plans. They were required to write four lesson plans, teach a minimum of 24 standards-based lessons, and attend eight workshops each school year. Pre- and posttest scores of students in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms indicated that significant growth occurred in each grade. Further, gains were significant in fourth grade when compared to the control group but fifth grade did not reveal IV significant results. This study confirms the results of Weiss et al, (2002), who found that teachers trained produced more effective lessons than those not using a standardsbased curriculum. However, the current study included the quantitative measure of student achievement. Further, the results of this study are consistent with the findings of Mc REL (2000) and the U.S. Department of Education ( 1995) that initial professional development should be followed by series of training workshops and extends their findings to include three years of training, standards-based curriculum and manipulatives.

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