The Effects of Content Organization and Curriculum Implementation on Students' Mathematics Learning in Second-Year High School Courses

Abstract

We examined curricular effectiveness in high schools that offered parallel paths in which students were free to study mathematics using 1 of 2 content organizational structures, an integrated approach or a (traditional) subject-specific approach. The study involved 3,258 high school students, enrolled in either Course 2 or Geometry, in 11 schools in 5 geographically dispersed states. We constructed 3-level hierarchical linear models of scores on 3 end-of-year outcome measures: a test of common objectives, an assessment of problem solving and reasoning, and a standardized achievement test. Students in the integrated curriculum scored significantly higher than those in the subject-specific curriculum on the standardized achievement test. Significant student-level predictors included prior achievement, gender, and ethnicity. At the teacher level, in addition to Curriculum Type, the Opportunity to Learn and Classroom Learning Environment factors demonstrated significant power in predicting student scores, whereas Implementation Fidelity, Teacher Experience, and Professional Development were not significant predictors.

Profiles of Elementary Teachers’ Use of Mathematics Curriculum Materials and the Influence of Teacher Expertise

“…Some research has found that curriculum-specific professional development is a significant factor in predicting effectiveness (Schoen, Cebulla, Finn, & Fi, 2003), though other research has not found such effects (Tarr, Grouws, Chavez, & Soria, 2013). In the context of state level reform in California, Cohen and Hill (2001) found that the things that made a difference to changes in their practice were integral to instruction: curricular materials for teachers and students to use in class; assessments that enabled students to demonstrate their mathematical performance-and teachers to consider it-and instruction for teachers that was grounded in these curriculum materials and assessments.…”

Islamic Montessori Curriculum Reconstruction

“…Selain tujuan, penentuan dan pengorganisasian konten juga melibatkan kriteria lain, seperti validitas (keabsahan), makna (signifikansi), perbedaan yang tepat antara berbagai tingkatan dan konten, dan tingkat perkembangan. Lebih jauh lagi, kontinuitas dan urutan dalam belajar dan variasi kapasitas belajar penting pula untuk dipertimbangkan (Bahri, 2014;Kuboja & Ngussa, 2015;Taba, 1962).…”

A cross‐national comparison of mathematical problems on numbers and operations‐related topics in five countries

“…(2002) showed that textbook is a potentially implemented curriculum that forges a direct link between intended and implemented curricula. Many studies also asserted that mathematics textbooks play a key role in mathematics teaching and learning process (Fan et al., 2013; Tarr et al., 2013; Wijaya et al, 2015), as mathematics textbooks are a major source of information and learning for teachers and students.…”

“…We can reveal possible opportunities to learn mathematics intended for students in different countries through textbooks analysis and comparison because textbooks are regarded as the embodiment of such intention in mathematics curriculum or mathematics standards (Choi & Park, 2013). Törnroos (2005) suggested that learning opportunities should be considered as an important factor to explain the differences of students’ performance in mathematics among different countries; this implies that if the contents of textbooks are designed differently, students will receive different opportunities to learn mathematics (Haggarty & Pepin, 2002; Tarr et al., 2013). The differences in opportunity to learn partly generate the emergence of different mathematics performance; earlier studies have confirmed this assumption, in which mathematics textbooks have a strong relationship with students’ mathematics performance.…”

“…More specifically, in a well-known international textbook analysis (part of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)) which investigated the translation of policy into practice through the world of textbooks involving 630 mathematics and science textbooks, Valverde et al (2002) showed that textbook is a potentially implemented curriculum that forges a direct link between intended and implemented curricula. Many studies also asserted that mathematics textbooks play a key role in mathematics teaching and learning process (Fan et al, 2013;Tarr et al, 2013;Wijaya et al, 2015), as mathematics textbooks are a major source of information and learning for teachers and students.…”