ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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Description
This study contributes to the ongoing discussion of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT). It investigates the case of Rico, a high school mathematics teacher who had become known to his colleagues and his students as a superbly effective mathematics teacher. His students not only developed excellent mathematical skills, they also developed deep understanding of the mathematics they learned. Moreover, Rico redesigned his curricula and instruction completely so that they provided a means of support for his students to learn mathematics the way he intended. The purpose of this study was to understand the sources of Rico's effectiveness. The data for this study was generated in three phases. Phase I included videos of Rico's lessons during one semester of an Algebra II course, post-lesson reflections, and Rico's self-constructed instructional materials. An analysis of Phase I data led to Phase II, which consisted of eight extensive stimulated-reflection interviews with Rico. Phase III consisted of a conceptual analysis of the prior phases with the aim of creating models of Rico's mathematical conceptions, his conceptions of his students' mathematical understandings, and his images of instruction and instructional design. Findings revealed that Rico had developed profound personal understandings, grounded in quantitative reasoning, of the mathematics that he taught, and profound pedagogical understandings that supported these very same ways of thinking in his students. Rico's redesign was driven by three factors: (1) the particular way in which Rico himself understood the mathematics he taught, (2) his reflective awareness of those ways of thinking, and (3) his ability to envision what students might learn from different instructional approaches. Rico always considered what someone might already need to understand in order to understand "this" in the way he was thinking of it, and how understanding "this" might help students understand related ideas or methods. Rico's continual reflection on the mathematics he knew so as to make it more coherent, and his continual orientation to imagining how these meanings might work for students' learning, made Rico's mathematics become a mathematics of students--impacting how he assessed his practice and engaging him in a continual process of developing MKT.
ContributorsLage Ramírez, Ana Elisa (Author) / Thompson, Patrick W. (Thesis advisor) / Carlson, Marilyn P. (Committee member) / Castillo-Chavez, Carlos (Committee member) / Saldanha, Luis (Committee member) / Middleton, James A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This creative nonfiction dissertation study sought to describe the process by which three self-identified White teachers—who are engaged in structural initiatives in their schools, districts and/or communities for racial equity—transitioned from colorblindness to understanding white supremacy and structural racism. The following overarching research question guided the study: What are three self-identified White teachers’ perceptions of their process of shifting from colorblindness to understanding their role in white supremacy and structural racism? The study also addressed the following sub-questions: (1) What are the pedagogical pivot places that occur in three self-identified White teachers’ processes of coming to understand white supremacy and structural racism? And (2) How do these pedagogical pivot places contribute to new ways of knowing in teachers’ shifting from colorblindness to understanding white supremacy and structural racism? This study contributes to the literature on White teachers’ process of shifting from colorblindness to racial consciousness and understanding white supremacy. It offers implications for shifting ideologies of White pre-service teachers and teachers in schools. However, efforts to dismantle structural racism need to extend beyond helping White teachers to understand their role in upholding white supremacy and fighting against structural racism to better meet the needs of their diverse students. Schools in the United States function to reproduce the hidden curriculua of whiteness and work. Because schools are amplifiers of the ideologies of the greater society, by disseminating the findings in the form of creative nonfiction, the study attempts to extend this work outside of schooling and into society to address the problem of structural racism in society.
ContributorsRylak, Danielle (Author) / Carlson, David Lee (Thesis advisor) / Evans-Winters, Venus (Committee member) / Matias, Cheryl (Committee member) / Viren, Sarah (Committee member) / Warriner, Doris (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022