MPI

Center for Mathematics Education (CME) Project
Mathematical Practices Implementation (MPI) Study

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Co-Principal Investigators: Michael Steele, Al Cuoco and Sarah Sword (Education Development Center)
Graduate Students: Jillian Cavanna, Frances Harper
Funding: National Science Foundation Discovery Research K-12 Program
Dates: 2010-2014

The Center for Mathematics Education (CME) at Education Development Center, in partnership with Michigan State University, is leading a four-year research project to study teachers’ implementation of the CME Project Algebra 1 curriculum. This project, the CME Project Mathematical Practices Implementation study, is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Discovery Research K-12 program. The study has two primary goals:

• To understand the role of CME Project and specifically the mathematical habits of mind principles of the curriculum in supporting teacher learning and instructional practice.
• To understand the factors that contribute to or detract from the faithful implementation of the goals intended by a curriculum, including teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching, teachers’ fidelity to the curriculum, and teachers’ school context.

The CME Project is a student-centered problem-based four-year high school curriculum organized around the ways of thinking that are indigenous to mathematics and used by mathematicians in their work. These mathematical habits of mind or mathematical practices are featured throughout CME Project and are central elements of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The MPI study will examine teachers’ use of CME Project and its role in the mathematics classroom. It will be conducted with an estimated 80 ninth grade Algebra 1 teachers from across the country. Findings from this research will contribute evidence-based guidance on the conditions, learning supports, and capacities teachers and schools need to effectively implement curricular changes that have the potential for improving student achievement in mathematics.