Learning Forward
Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.
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Math Makeover
A school-university partnership transforms elementary math instruction
By Nicole Rigelman, Sarah Crane, Kellie Petrick and Donna Shrier
April 2018
Vol. 39 No. 2
Walk into Jackson Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon, on any school day, and you’ll notice the excitement in the air. You’ll encounter students enthused by the mathematics lesson they just had, along with teachers excited about the collaboration they just completed. Teachers at Jackson embrace a growth mindset and continuously try best practices that better reach all students. They collaborate and bounce ideas off one another, and they observe one another and provide feedback. They’ll even ask another teacher to model lessons with their students so they learn how to implement particular instructional practices. The energy is contagious. As Sarah Crane, Jackson’s principal, reflected, “It’s uncommon for me to walk through the halls without someone telling me about a lesson they did, one they’re going
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Jackson Elementary School, Hillsboro, Oregon
Enrollment: 560
Staff: 25
Racial/ethnic mix:
White: 66%
Hispanic: 14%
Multiracial: 9%
Asian: 7%
Black/African-American: 3%
American Indian/Alaska Native: 1%
Limited English proficient: 8%
Free/reduced lunch: 23%
Special education: 13%
Website: www.hsd.k12.or.us/Jackson
References
Fernández, M.L. (2005). Exploring “lesson study” in teacher preparation. In H.L. Chick & J.L. Vincent (Eds.), Proceedings of the 29th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Vol. 2 (pp. 305-312). Melbourne, Australia: PME.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2014). Principles to actions: Ensuring mathematical success for all. Reston, VA: NCTM.
Petti, A.D. (2013). Seeking mutual benefit: University and districts as partners in preparation. School-University Partnerships, 6(2), 32-48.
Rigelman, N. (2017). Learning in and from practice with others. In L. West & M. Boston (Eds.), Annual perspectives in mathematics education: Reflective and collaborative processes to improve mathematics teaching (pp. 65-76). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Rigelman, N.R. (2011). Bring • do • leave: Nurturing reasoning and sense making. Teaching Children Mathematics, 18(3), 190-197.
Rigelman, N.M. & Ruben, B. (2012). Creating foundations for collaboration in schools: Utilizing professional learning communities to support teacher candidate learning and visions of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28(7), 979-989.
Stein, M.K., Smith, M.S., Henningsen, M.A., & Silver, E.A. (2009). Implementing standards-based mathematics instruction: A casebook for professional development (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Teitel, L. (2003). The professional development schools handbook: Starting, sustaining, and assessing partnerships that improve student learning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Watanabe, T. (2002). Learning from Japanese lesson study. Educational Leadership, 59(6), 36-39.
Weaver, D., Dick, T., & Rigelman, N.R. (2005). Assessing the quantity and quality of student discourse in mathematics classrooms. Paper presented at Math Science Partnership Evaluation Summit, Minneapolis, MN. Available at https://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/12626.
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