Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of mathematics-specific teaching practices on class-level mathematics achievement. Five teaching-method scales were generated from the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) teacher survey data and examined in relation to eighth-grade class achievement in algebra, geometry, and fractions, and achievement on items of low, medium, and high complexity. Major findings indicate that classes with high-socioeconomic-status (SES) and high-ability students tend to receive teaching practices that focus on “show and tell” and “inference” activities, practices that predict high opportunity to learn (OTL) and high achievement. Further, regression analyses show that after controlling for prior class achievement, SES, class type, and OTL, “show and tell” practices predict achievement on medium to difficult complexity items, and “inference” activities predict geometry achievement and achievement on highly complex items. “Comparison,” “eclectic,” and “abstract” practices generally predict low achievement. Teaching-scale scores have a much greater influence on complexity-level (process) outcomes than on content outcomes. Research evidence and current thinking that holds that specific teaching practices are unrelated to achievement may be premature because they were based on the use of limited outcome measures. Process outcomes that measure level of performance may provide more guidance than content outcomes on the development of research models for mathematics teaching and learning.
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