Lenses on Learning: Understanding Mathematics Instruction at the Secondary Level

The project will create instructional materials, for use in seminar settings with teams of school and district leaders from middle and high schools, to support school and district leaders who are experiencing increasing pressure to improve the mathematics performance of students in their schools–at a time of raised expectations for all students’ enrollment in algebra and more participation in higher-level mathematics courses in high school. The materials are designed to further develop participants’ understanding of learning and teaching algebra, as a case from which to consider both instructional and systemic opportunities for improving the mathematics program, so that schools can provide all students with the opportunity to learn important mathematics and to be successful in national, state, and local assessments. The research component of the project investigates the Leadership Content Knowledge (LCK)—knowledge of mathematics, how it is learned and taught—of secondary school administrators, exploring the nature of secondary administrators’ LCK, how a Lenses on Learning seminar affects this LCK, and how material design principals developed for K–8 Lenses on Learning seminars function at the secondary level.