Counting on You: the Rhetoric of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Standards". Michael R
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1995 Counting on You: The Rhetoric of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Standards". Michael R. Dreher Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Dreher, Michael R., "Counting on You: The Rhetoric of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics "Standards"." (1995). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 6007. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/6007 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afreet reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically m this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell Information C om pany 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 COUNTING ON YOU: THE RHETORIC OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL TEACHERS OF MATHEMATICS STANDARDS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication by Michael R. Dreher B.A., North Central College, 1989 M.A., University of Iowa, 1992 August 199 5 UHI Number: 9609081 UMI Microform 9609081 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company- All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Hoad Ann Arbor, MI 48103 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A dissertation is never done alone; rather, it is the fruit of the help and guidance of many people. I would first like to thank my parents, Oliver and Mary Ann Dreher, and my grandmother, Evelyn Oprais, who have loved and sustained me through this project. I completely appreciate everything that each of you has done for me, and for backing my decision to continue my education. I would also like to thank my new parents, Norris and Shirley Schexnaider, for their understanding and patience when I couldn't always be there, and for accepting me into their family. I would also like to thank the professors who made this dissertation possible. Thank you to Dr. Richard Paine and Dr. Mary Ann Cunningham of North Central College, who encouraged me to consider graduate school, and then urged me to attend the University of Iowa. Dr. Donovan Ochs and Dr. Fred Antzcak of the University of Iowa encouraged me to consider this project, and were supportive of my efforts. I would also like to thank my professors at LSU, especially my committee: Dr. Harold Mixon, Dr. Andrew King, Dr. David Kirshner, and Dr. Kenneth Zagacki. Dr. Kirshner has been most helpful in orienting this dissertation toward the mathematics education community. I would like to particularly thank Dr. Zagacki, for his painstaking and thorough revisions of this dissertation. I would like to also thank my church family, Riverdale Baptist Church, for all their support, encouragement and prayers over the last 2 1/2 years. You will be missed greatly. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Tammy Schexnaider, whose patience, prodding, understanding, and most importantly, love, has been important to me during the more than two years of our marriage. Thank you for your understanding and your faith in me. Any husband would be blessed to have you as his wife. Without all of you, this would not have been possible. My appreciation and prayers of thanksgiving are because of all of your efforts. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................... ii ABSTRACT ............................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................. 1 Introduction ........ ................. 1 Discourse and the Culture of Mathematics . 8 The Rhetoric of Mathematics as it Relates to S c i e n c e ........................................ 13 Extrinsic Mathematics: NCTM and the Post-New Math Paradigm: ............................... 16 Cultural Influences and Mathematics .... 21 Organization of Study ....................... 3 0 N o t e s ....................................... 3 0 2 METHODOLOGY ................................. 3 5 Introduction of Narrative .................. 3 5 Toward a Conception of Narrative ......... 4 6 Taking a Part of a Representative Anecdote . 48 The Need to Represent More Than the Anecdote 51 N o t e s .......................................... 53 3 CURRICULUM AND EVALUATION STANDARDS ........ 56 Introduction: Reform Before the Standards . 56 Innovational Movements and Transformational M o v e m e n t s ......................................58 The Agenda for Action: A First Response in the Early 19 80's ............ 59 The Philosophical Beginnings of the Standards 64 The Standards: General Goals .............. 66 The Rhetorical Appeals of the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards ............ 68 Teachers: Making NCTM's Reforms Reality . 69 The Standards as Reform Guide for Curriculum Specialists................................... 75 The NCTM Standards: The Elite Needs the P u b l i c ........................................76 Business Leaders as Audience .............. 82 The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards: Transforming or Innovational Rhetoric? . 84 Problem Solving and the NCTM Standards . 84 Transformational Turns in the Standards . 87 Transforming the Previous Curriculum .... 89 The Standards as Innovational Movement . 90 Attacking the Institution ................ 93 The Paradox Between Transformation and I n n o v a t i o n ................................... 96 iv Do the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards S u c c e e d ? ..................................99 N o t e s ................ ...................... 103 4 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS ..................... 106 Introduction ............................... 106 The Professional Standards as Narrative . 108 Background of theProfessional Standards . Ill A Narrative Consideration of the Professional Standards.................................112 Persuasive Elements of the Professional Standards.................................115 The Conversation Between the NCTM and the R e a d e r .................................... 119 The Narrative Conversation ................ 122 Unpacking the Assumptions of the Professional Standards.................................. 125 The Opening Vignette: Enunciation of the Professional Standards ..................... 128 The First Narrator: Standards for Teaching Mathematics ................................ 132 The Conflict Continues: Transformational or Innovational? ............................... 138 The NCTM's Second Attempt at Transformation . 13 9 Responsibilities: Can the NCTM Share the L o a d ? ................ ....................141 Resolving the Narrative Paradox ............ 142 The NCTM As Expert Rhetor .................. 144 C o n c l u s i o n ................................ 146 Notes .............................. 148 5 ASSESSMENT STANDARDS ....................... 151 Introduction ............................... 151 The Assumptions of the Assessment Standards . 154 Explicit Assumptions of the Assessment Standards ..... ......................... 155 Standards for Assessment .................. 157 Purposes for Using the Assessment Standards . 163 Implementation of the Assessment Standards . 165 The Revolution Begins: Examining the Opening V i g n e t t e ................................... .166 Attacks on the Instrumental Teacher ........ 17 0 The Portfolio as Paradigm C a s e ............171 The Rhetoric of R e i t e r a t i o n ................ 173 Feminist Problems With the Assessment Standards........................ 174 Progress Toward R e f o r m .......... 176 C o n c l u s i o n ................................ 177 N o t e s ...................................... 178 6 CONCLUSION .................................... 17 9 Introduction ............................... 179 v Data in Support of the S t a n d a r d s ............ 180 Data Concerning Technology and the Standards 183 Why Have People Not