DOCUMENT RESUME ED 343 810 SE 052 810 AUTHOR Popkewitz, Thomas S.; Myrdal, Sigurjon TITLE Case Studies of the Urban Mathematics Collaborative Project: Program Report 91-3. INSTITUTION Wisconsin Center for Education Research, Madison. SPONS AGENCY Ford Foundation, New York, N.Y. PUB DATE Jun 91 NOTE 375p.; For related documents, see ED 333 088-089, and SE 052 799-811. PUB TYPE Reports - Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC15 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Case Studies; Classroom Environment; College School Cooperation; *Cooperative Programs; Educational Change; Educational Cooperation; *Faculty Development; Higher Education; Inservice Teacher Education; Intermediate Grades; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; *Mathematics Teachers; Qualitative Research; School Business Relationship; Secondary Education; *Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Improvement; *Teacher Role; Teacher Workshops; Teaching Methods; *Urban Education IDENTIFIERS *Collaboratives; Urban Mathematics Collaborative Project ABSTRACT The Urban Mathematics Collaborative (UMC) project has the goal of contributing to the improvement of mathematics education in the inner-city schools by identifying models to enhance the professional lives of teachers and encouraging the entry of high school mathematics teachers into a larger mathematics community including mathematicians from higher education and industry. This monograph constitutes reports of case studies drawn from participant observations and interviews with teachers at 11 UMC sites. Part I explores the networks and concepts that organize the cases and discusses general themes raised in them. The first section focuses on the general problem of inner-city mathematics L4ucation, followed by an examination of the methodology of the case 3tudies. The final section focuses on themes that interrelate teacher professionalism, empowerment, and the teaching of mathematics within urban settings. Part II includes the following studies: (1) Being There--A Mathematics Collaborativr and the Challenge of Teaching Mathematics in the Urban Classroom (Cameron McCarthy);(2) Teachers on the Board (Charles Bruckerhoff); (3) A Teacher-Centeree Analysis (Jan Gamradt); (4) The Politics of Mathematics (Lynda Stone); (5) Constraints in Teacher Professionalism (Ellen Madono); (6) Empowering the Professional Teacher (Eric Yonke);(7) Two Teachers' Perspectives (Robert Muffoletto); (8) Something of Our Own (Jerilynn Changar);(9) Knowledge of Growth and Professional Commitment (Anna Richert); (10) Changing To Meet the Future (Dennie Smith and Lana Smith); and (11) Professionalism and Leadership (Mary Woods Scherr). (MDH) .71414111T:Pli-AT5T-#4,7.17.1.!-: June 1991 Program Report 91-3 Case Studies of the UrbanMathematics Collaborative Project: AReporttothe Ford i 4 Foundation U.S. DEPARTMENT OFEDUCATION ot Eoocabonal RrJaaarch andImprovement Thomas S. Popkewitz "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Of EDUCATIONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) X This document hasbeen reproduced as and Sigurjón Mgrdal ptclt received from the personor organization originating if made to improve Minor changes have been reproduction duality Stated in this docu Points of view or opinionsrepresent official mem (40 no necessarily TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OERI position or policy INFORMATION CENTER IERIC)" Wisconsin Center for Education Research School of Education, University ofWisconsin-Madison CASE STUDIES OF THE URBAN MATHEMATICS COLLABORATIVE PROJECT: A REPORT TO THE FORD LOUNDATION Thomas S. Popkewitz, Case Studies Director Professor, Curriculum and Instruction University of Wisconsin-Madison Sigurjtin MYrdal, Project Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs Icelandic Institute of Education A report from The Urban Mathematics Collaborative Documentation Pro ject Wisconsin Center for Education Research School of Education University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin June 1991 We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Dianne Paley, Margaret Powell, Marilyn Sapienza and Kay Schultz in the preparation of this report. The research reported in this paper was supported by the Ford Foundation and by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. The opinions exprened in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ford Foundation or the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PART I. Methodological Issues and Themes of Reform and Change In the Case Studies 1 Thomas S. Popkewitz and Sigurjim MYrdal Introduction 1 Reform in Inner-City Mathematics 2 The Methodology of the Case Studies 5 Th.: Themes of the Case Studies 16 Conclusions 35 References 37 PART II.The Studies A. Being There--A Mathematics Collaborative and the Challenge of Teaching Mathematics in the Urban Classroom: A Case Study from the New Orleans Mathematics Collaborative ... A-1 Cameron McCarthy B. Teachers on the Board: A Case Study from the Cleveland Collaborative for Mathematics Education (C2ME) B-1 Charles E. Bruckerhoff C. A Teacher-Centered Analysis: A Case Study from the Twin Cities Urban Mathematics Collaborati ve c-1 Jan Gamradt D. The Politics of Mathematics: A Case Study from the Philadelphia Math Science Collaborative D-1 Lynda Stone E. Constraints in Teacher Professionalism: A Case Study from the Pittsburgh Mathematics Collaborative E-1 Ellen Madono F. Empowering the Professional Teacher A Case Study from the Durham Mathematics Council F-1 Eric John Yonke G. Two Teachers' Perspectives: A Case Study from the Los Angeles Urban Mathematics/Science/ Technology Collaborative Project +PLUS+ G-1 Robert Muffoletto Page H. Something of our Own: A Case Study from the St. Louis Urban Mathematics Collaborative H-1 JerilynnChangar I. Knowledge of Growth and Professional Commitment A Case Study from the San Francisco Mathematics Collaborative I-1 AnnaRichert J. Changing to Meet the Future: A Case Study from the Memphis Urban Mathematics Collaborative J-1 Dennie L.Smith and Lana J. Smith K. Professionalism and Leadership: A Case Study from the San Diego Urban Mathematics Collaborative K-1 Mary Woods Scherr (; METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES AND THEMES OF REFORM AND CHANGE IN THE CASE STUDIES I. Introduction In 1984, the Ford Foundation initiated the Urban Mathematics Collaborative (UMC) project, The Foundation's goal was to contribute to the improvement of mathematics education in inner-city schools. Among the project's primary objectives were identifying models to enhance the professional lives of teachers and encouraging the entry of high school mathematics teachers into a larger mathematics community, which includes mathematicians from higher education and industry. In February 1985, the Ford Foundation awarded the first grants to establish mathematics collaboratives in five U.S. cities. During the next eighteen months, up until September 1986, six more mathematics collaboratives were funded by Ford grants, bringing the total number of mathematics collaboratives in the UMC project to eleven. The UMC project proceeds from assumptions about reform that are quite different from previous efforts oriented toward improvement of schooling. Considered individually, each collaborative can be seen as an alliance of innovative local project Each project was to define and actualize its own notion of the key concepts of the OMC project, i.e., "teacher professionalism," "reform in mathematics education," "urban collaboration." Linked together, they constitute a national comprehensive field experiment to develop and test new modes of enhancing teachers' knowledge of mathematics and of increasing their professionalism. Rather than limiting reform to the personal attributes of teachers or to the subject matter alone, the emphasis is on the occupational interactions of teachers and the contextual features of teaching. In the wider practices of current educational reform, the Urban Mathematics Collaborative project presents a challenge to the assumed wisdom about reform through linking different sectors within and outside schooling. The UMC project is also an innovative alliance of national funding with highly localized planning and resources. In this report, we focus on case studies of the individual Ford collaborative projects. The document draws on data from participant observations and interviews within the eleven UMC sites.It is the final version of these reports that constitute this monograph. This chapter explores the networks and concepts that organize the cases and discusses general themes raised in them. The first section focuses on the 2 general problem of inner-city mathematics education. Then we proceed to examine the methodology of the case studies. The final section focuses on themes that interrelate teacher professionalism, empowerment, and the teaching of mathematics within urban settings. II. Reform in Inner-City Mathematics Mathematics has a traditional but much debated ro:c in schooling, perhaps more so than any other school subject. Particularly since the advent of mass schooling, debate about mathematics has been a signal for a variety of conflicting expecta ons about what schooling can achieve. Questions regarding what constitutes mathematics, how much mathematics should be studied and at what points in schooling, and the role of mathematics have consistently been points of contention (Stanic, 1987). Debate has usually beel cast in the form of competing interests among subject areas. That is, teachers and the general public seem to discuss questions of reform in terms