E QUITY AND A CCESS TO H IGH - Q UALITY I NSTRUCTION IN M IDDLE S CHOOL M ATHEMATICS Kara Jackson McGill University Collaborators on SGER work: Paul Cobb, Glenn Colby, Anne Garrison, Lynsey Gibbons, Bob Jiménez, Rich Milner, Rebecca Schmidt, Emily Shahan, & Jonee Wilson; Vanderbilt University Melissa Boston, Duquesne University

S PECIFYING A V ISION OF A MBITIOUS AND E QUITABLE I NSTRUCTION If instruction was equitable, all students would be supported to participate substantially in each phase of a mathematics lesson Not necessarily in the same ways Specify concrete forms of instructional practice that are learnable in the context of high-quality professional development Jackson, K., & Cobb, P. (under review). Refining a vision of ambitious mathematics instruction to address issues of equity. 2

A MBITIOUS V ISION OF M ATHEMATICS I NSTRUCTION Teacher selects and sequences solutions that advance an instructional agenda Teacher presses students to make connections between different solutions Teacher mediates communication between students to help them understand each other’s explanations Teacher Conducts Whole Class Discussion Individually and/or in groups Students Work on Solving the Task Cognitively demanding Multiple entry points Teacher Poses Task (e.g., McClain, 2002; NCTM, 2000; Stein, Engle, Smith, & Hughes, 2008; Stein, Henningsen, & Silver, 2000) 3

A MBITIOUS AND E QUITABLE V ISION OF M ATHEMATICS I NSTRUCTION Teacher selects and sequences solutions that advance an instructional agenda Teacher presses students to make connections between different solutions Teacher mediates communication between students to help them understand each other’s explanations Teacher Conducts Whole Class Discussion Individually and/or in groups Students Work on Solving the Task Cognitively- demanding Multiple entry points In the launch: Key contextual features are discussed Key mathematical relationships as represented in the task are discussed Broad & active student participation is encouraged Teacher Poses Task Jackson, K., Shahan, E., Gibbons, L., & Cobb, P. (under review). Launching tasks to support all students’ learning. 4

R EVISED Q UESTION What does it take to support middle-grades mathematics teachers’ development of ambitious and equitable instructional practices on a large scale? 5

N EXT S TEPS : S UPPORTING A MBITIOUS & E QUITABLE T EACHING AT S CALE Test and refine a comprehensive set of hypotheses regarding the development of an instructional system and the practices of the various role groups organized around ambitious and equitable teaching 6

C OMPONENTS OF AN I NSTRUCTIONAL S YSTEM Explicit goals for students’ mathematical learning Vision of ambitious & equitable mathematics instruction— concrete instructional practices Instructional materials Pull-out professional development (PD) focused on specific forms of practice, organized around materials, sustained over time Teacher collaborative time focused on specific forms of practice that have been focus on pull-out PD Student assessments that focus on above learning goals and can inform ongoing improvement of mainstream instruction identification of students who are currently struggling and require additional support (e.g., Bryk, 2009; Lampert, Boerst, & Graziani, 2011) 7

S UPPORTING A MBITIOUS & E QUITABLE T EACHING AT S CALE Hypothesis: Development of an instructional system will support improvement in teachers’ Vision of high-quality mathematics instruction Vision of students’ mathematical capabilities (Horn, 2007) Mathematical knowledge for teaching (Hill, Schilling, & Ball, 2004) Quality of instruction 8

S UPPORTING A MBITIOUS & E QUITABLE T EACHING AT S CALE Development of a coherent instructional system organized around ambitious and equitable goals for teaching has implications for various role groups’ practices e.g., Coaches, Principals, District leaders 9

P RODUCT Empirically-grounded theory of action for the development of ambitious and equitable instruction in middle-grades mathematics 10