Practicing Change: Curriculum Adaptation and Teacher Narrative in the Context of Mathematics Education Reform

Abstract

The use of reform‐based curricula is one possible avenue for the widespread implementation of mathematics education reform. In this article, we present two urban elementary teachers' models of curriculum use that describe how each teacher used a reform‐oriented mathematics curriculum. In particular, we examine when and how the teachers made adaptations to the curriculum. We find that each teacher had a distinctive pattern of adaptation when using the curriculum. Furthermore, these patterns were related to three key aspects of the teachers' own experiences with mathematics: their early memories of learning mathematics, their current perceptions of themselves as mathematics learners, and their mathematical interactions with family members. Implications for curriculum design and implementation are discussed.