The Teacher Development Continuum in the United States and China Summary of a Workshop (2010) / Chapter Skim
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2 Mathematics Education in the United States
2 Mathematics Education in the United States
Pages 11-18
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From page 11... ...
Preparation and credentialing, working conditions, and job definitions are set at the state and local levels. And there are approximately 14,500 school districts in the United States with elected local school boards that make policy.
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From page 12... ...
These cultural aspects of teaching have kept the profession relatively unstratified in the United States. There is little differentiation in job descriptions or pay.
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From page 13... ...
"We are constantly asking teachers to teach things we have not prepared them for, and we are cheating our students of a good mathematics education." Tatto is the principal investigator for an international comparison of educational policy known as the first Teacher Education Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M) .1 TEDS-M has just finished a systematic study of preservice mathematics preparation in 17 countries, including the United States.
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From page 14... ...
The literature review done for the study showed that teacher education, recruitment, and pay are highly decentralized in the United States, Tatto reported. All states require certified teachers to have completed a bachelor's degree that includes subject matter and pedagogical studies for an initial credential.
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From page 15... ...
Mari Muri, a senior mathematics consultant for the Project to Increase Mastery of Mathematics and Science at Wesleyan University, noted that most elementary teachers in the United States are trained as generalists and do not have much mathematics training. In most states they have taken 6 credit hours of mathematics, with that number rising to 12 credit hours in some states.
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From page 16... ...
Chinese teachers "are more comfortable visiting each other's classrooms and observing a lesson." The structure of a teacher's day in the United States also does not permit easy collaboration. However, some districts have found ways to address this problem.
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From page 17... ...
"That's something we struggle with in the United States," she mentioned. "We need to think about how to foster wisdom within practice." Belinda Thompson, a National Board Certified Teacher with 9 years of experience teaching mathematics in grades 5 through 9, observed that attitudes vary within the United States.
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From page 18... ...
As evidence for a renewed focus on teaching in the United States, she cited several innovative proposals made by prominent commentators, such as journalist Thomas Friedman's call to eliminate federal income taxes for all public teachers, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's call to pay more to teachers in high-needs subjects like science and mathematics, and writer Malcolm Gladwell's call for an apprenticeship system that allows candidate teachers to be rigorously evaluated. "Our country is putting a lot of effort and energy into thinking differently about teaching," Bay-Williams commented.
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