A Review of the Literature on Mathematics and Science Teacher Quality

A large body of literature exists that examines teacher quality characteristics and the relationship of indicators of those characteristics to teacher effectiveness. This existing research literature broadly views teacher quality research without illuminating specific areas of teacher quality, such as mathematics and science. In an effort to focus the literature base for researchers and policymakers more narrowly, this review specifically examines teacher quality as it relates to mathematics and science teaching and learning. The review highlights key policy and practitioner perspectives, provides a focused synthesis on current research findings on mathematics and science teacher quality, and suggests areas of research that are limited in the literature.

[1]  Joseph Krajcik,et al.  Achieving standards in urban systemic reform: An example of a sixth grade project‐based science curriculum , 2004 .

[2]  Jennifer King Rice,et al.  Teacher Quality: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes , 2003 .

[3]  A. Su,et al.  The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics , 1932, The Mathematical Gazette.

[4]  Hyman Bass,et al.  Interweaving content and pedagogy in teaching and learning to teach: Knowing and using mathematics. , 2000 .

[5]  B. Chaney Student Outcomes and the Professional Preparation of Eighth-Grade Teachers in Science and Mathematics. NSF/NELS:88 Teacher Transcript Analysis. , 1995 .

[6]  Linda Darling-Hammond,et al.  Does Teacher Preparation Matter? Evidence about Teacher Certification, Teach for America, and Teacher Effectiveness , 2005 .

[7]  Brian Rowan,et al.  What Large-Scale, Survey Research Tells Us About Teacher What Large-Scale, Survey Research Tells Us About Teacher Effects on Student Achievement: Insights From the Prospectus Effects on Student Achievement: Insights From the Prospectus Study of Elementary Schools Study of Elementary Schools , 2015 .

[8]  Peter A. Youngs,et al.  Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement Gains: A Review , 2003 .

[9]  Penelope L. Peterson,et al.  Teachers ' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Students ' Problem Solving in Elementary Arithmetic Author ( s ) : , 2007 .

[10]  Evelyn J. Sowell Effects of Manipulative Materials in Mathematics Instruction , 1989 .

[11]  Annette R. Baturo,et al.  Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Difficulties in Decimal Numeration , 2001 .

[12]  E. Hanushek Teacher Characteristics and Gains in Student Achievement: Estimation Using Micro Data. , 1971 .

[13]  David T. Burkam,et al.  Gender and Science Learning Early in High School: Subject Matter and Laboratory Experiences , 1997 .

[14]  M. Fetler,et al.  High School Staff Characteristics and Mathematics Test Results , 1999 .

[15]  Brian Rowan,et al.  Using research on employees' performance to study the effects of teachers on students' achievement? , 1997 .

[16]  Evelyn F. Hawkins,et al.  School policies and practices affecting instruction in mathematics: Findings from the National Assessment of Educational Progress , 1998 .

[17]  Penny M. Beile,et al.  Scholars Before Researchers: On the Centrality of the Dissertation Literature Review in Research Preparation , 2005 .

[18]  David C. Berliner,et al.  The Effectiveness of "Teach for America" and Other Under-certified Teachers , 2002 .

[19]  Ronald G. Ehrenberg,et al.  Did Teachers' Verbal Ability and Race Matter in the 1960s? "Coleman" Revisited. RAND Reprints. , 1995 .

[20]  Catherine A. Brown,et al.  Learning to Teach Hard Mathematics: Do Novice Teachers and Their Instructors Give Up Too Easily? , 1992 .

[21]  Penelope L. Peterson,et al.  Teachers' Pedagogical Content Beliefs in Mathematics , 1989 .

[22]  Content and Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Elementary Science Teacher Educators: Knowing our Students , 2000 .

[23]  G. Glass Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A Review of State Policy Evidence , 2000 .

[24]  D. Ball,et al.  Developing Measures of Teachers’ Mathematics Knowledge for Teaching , 2004, The Elementary school journal.

[25]  Peter A. Youngs,et al.  Defining “Highly Qualified Teachers”: What Does “Scientifically-Based Research” Actually Tell Us? , 2002 .

[26]  R. Strauss,et al.  Some new evidence on teacher and student competencies , 1986 .

[27]  A. R. McDuffie Mathematics Teaching as a Deliberate Practice: An Investigation of Elementary Pre-service Teachers' Reflective Thinking During Student Teaching , 2004 .

[28]  Harold H. Wenglinsky The Link Between Teacher Classroom Practices and Student Academic Performance , 2002 .

[29]  D. Ball Research on Teaching Mathematics: Making Subject Matter Knowledge Part of the Equation. , 1988 .

[30]  Karen B. Givvin,et al.  Teachers' beliefs and practices related to mathematics instruction , 2001 .

[31]  L. Darling-Hammond,et al.  Does Teacher Certification Matter? Evaluating the Evidence , 2001 .

[32]  Janet L. Kolodner,et al.  Problem-Based Learning Meets Case-Based Reasoning in the Middle-School Science Classroom: Putting Learning by Design(tm) Into Practice , 2003 .

[33]  D. Ball Prospective Elementary and Secondary Teachers' Understanding of Division. , 1990 .

[34]  Patrick W Thompson,et al.  Talking about rates conceptually, Part II: Mathematical knowledge for teaching , 1996 .

[35]  Linda R. Valli,et al.  Teaching before and after Professional Preparation: The Story of a High School Mathematics Teacher , 1993 .

[36]  Suzanne M. Wilson,et al.  Creating Effective Teachers: Concise Answers for Hard Questions. An Addendum to the Report "Teacher Preparation Research: Current Knowledge, Gaps, and Recommendations.". , 2003 .

[37]  Ronald G. Ehrenberg,et al.  Do school and teacher characteristics matter? Evidence from High School and Beyond , 1994 .

[38]  Teri Rysz Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics in a Two-Year College Classroom. , 1999 .

[39]  John W. Fantuzzo,et al.  An Evaluation of the Relative Effectiveness of NCTM Standards-Based Interventions for Low-Achieving Urban Elementary Students. , 1998 .

[40]  Geoffrey B. Saxe,et al.  The Value (and Convergence) of Practices Suggested by Motivation Research and Promoted by Mathematics Education Reformers. , 1998 .

[41]  Glenda Carter,et al.  The Relationship Between Teacher and Student Beliefs About Mathematics , 1997 .

[42]  Rolf K. Blank,et al.  State Indicators of Science and Mathematics Education, 1999: State-by-State Trends and New Indicators from the 1997-98 School Year. , 1995 .

[43]  Harold L. Schoen,et al.  Teacher Variables That Relate to Student Achievement When Using a Standards-Based Curriculum. , 2003 .

[44]  E. Stern,et al.  The Nature of Teachers' Pedagogical Content Beliefs Matters for Students' Achievement Gains: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Elementary Mathematics. , 2002 .

[45]  L. Darling-Hammond Teacher Quality and Student Achievement , 2000 .

[46]  Patricia E. Simmons,et al.  Beginning teachers : Beliefs and classroom actions , 1999 .

[47]  J. Krajcik,et al.  Designing Educative Curriculum Materials to Promote Teacher Learning , 2005 .

[48]  A. C. Kruger,et al.  Teacher Beliefs and Student Achievement in Urban Schools Serving African American Students , 2005 .

[49]  Beverly S. Faircloth Intrinsic motivation of students with disabilities in the general education setting: What teachers should know and be able to do , 2008 .

[50]  Eric A. Hanushek,et al.  A More Complete Picture of School Resource Policies , 1996 .

[51]  L. Shulman Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching , 1986 .

[52]  J. R. Lockwood,et al.  Teacher Qualifications, Instructional Practices, and Reading and Mathematics Gains of Kindergartners. Research and Development Report. NCES 2006-031. , 2006 .

[53]  H. Schweingruber,et al.  TAKING SCIENCE TO SCHOOL: LEARNING AND TEACHING SCIENCE IN GRADES K-8 , 2007 .

[54]  Karen B. Givvin,et al.  Teaching Mathematics in Seven Countries: Results From the TIMSS 1999 Video Study , 2003 .

[55]  David H. Monk,et al.  Subject area preparation of secondary mathematics and science teachers and student achievement , 1994 .

[56]  Joseph Krajcik,et al.  Inquiry-based science in the middle grades: Assessment of learning in urban systemic reform , 2004 .

[57]  Heather C. Hill,et al.  Instructional Policy and Classroom Performance: The Mathematics Reform in California , 2000, Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education.

[58]  G. Leinhardt,et al.  Expertise in mathematics instruction: Subject matter knowledge. , 1985 .

[59]  Ronald F. Ferguson Paying for public education: New evidence on how and why money , 1991 .

[60]  E. Hanushek,et al.  Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement , 1998 .

[61]  Norman G. Lederman,et al.  Preservice biology teachers' knowledge structures as a function of professional teacher education: A year‐long assessment , 1993 .

[62]  P. Grossman The Making of a Teacher: Teacher Knowledge and Teacher Education , 1990 .

[63]  N. Augustine Rising Above The Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future , 2006 .

[64]  Clayton F. Callis,et al.  Council of Scientific Society Presidents , 1990 .

[65]  James R. C. Leitzel,et al.  A call for change : recommendations for the mathematical preparation of teachers of mathematics , 1991 .

[66]  Dan Goldhaber,et al.  Why don't schools and teachers seem to matter? : assessing the impact of unobservables on educational productivity , 1997 .

[67]  Ronald D. Anderson,et al.  SCIENCE TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS BY TEACHER BEHAVIOR AND BY STUDENT OUTCOME: A META-ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH , 1983 .

[68]  Larry V. Hedges,et al.  The Effect of School Resources on Student Achievement , 1996 .

[69]  D. Brewer,et al.  Does Teacher Certification Matter? High School Teacher Certification Status and Student Achievement , 2000 .

[70]  Richard M. Ingersoll,et al.  Teacher Turnover , Teacher Shortages , and the Organization of Schools , 2001 .

[71]  Liping Ma,et al.  Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics Teachers' Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States , 2010 .

[72]  J. Stone,et al.  Unions and Public Schools , 1984 .

[73]  Daniel P. Mayer Do New Teaching Standards Undermine Performance on Old Tests? , 1998 .

[74]  J. Hiebert Relationships between research and the NCTM standards , 1999 .

[75]  Zhonghe Wu,et al.  The Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Middle School, Mathematics Teachers in China and the U.S. , 2004 .

[76]  Science Teacher Preparation , 2000 .

[77]  Gerald H. Krockover,et al.  Beginning Science Teacher Cognition and Its Origins in the Preservice Secondary Science Teacher Program. , 1997 .

[78]  Kenneth M. Zeichner,et al.  Studying Teacher Education : The Report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education , 2005 .

[79]  Barbara M. Kinach A cognitive strategy for developing pedagogical content knowledge in the secondary mathematics methods course: toward a model of effective practice , 2002 .

[80]  D. Brewer,et al.  Evaluating the Effect of Teacher Degree Level on Educational Performance. , 1996 .

[81]  Heather C. Hill,et al.  Effects of Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching on Student Achievement , 2005 .

[82]  Leon W. Cohen,et al.  Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences , 1963 .

[83]  Rod Paige,et al.  Meeting the Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge: The Secretary's Annual Report on Teacher Quality. , 2002 .

[84]  T. Eisenberg Begle Revisited: Teacher Knowledge and Student Achievement in Algebra. , 1977 .

[85]  Charles R. Coble,et al.  Certification: It Does Matter , 1985 .

[86]  Harold Wenglinsky Facts of Critical Thinking Skills? What NAEP Results Say. , 2004 .

[87]  C. Secker,et al.  Effects of Inquiry-Based Teacher Practices on Science Excellence and Equity , 2002 .

[88]  C. Midgley,et al.  Teacher Discourse and Sixth Graders' Reported Affect and Achievement Behaviors in Two High-Mastery/High-Performance Mathematics Classrooms , 2003, The Elementary School Journal.