Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a difference in the instructional strategies used by exceptional intermediate mathematics teachers, as identified by National Board Certification, to those used by intermediate mathematics teachers who are not recognized as exceptional by National Board Certification. Methodology. A 47-item survey was used to collect data from the responses of 88 exceptional teachers, as identified by National Board Certification, and 83 teachers who were not recognized as exceptional. The responses for items were organized by 6 common instructional practices identified in the literature review. The 6 instructional practices were (a) direct instruction, (b) communicating mathematical understanding, (c) active learning in mathematics, (d) reasoning and problem solving, (e) use of educational technology, and (0 use of multiple assessment strategies. Frequency distributions were used to analyze the amount of instructional time used for each instructional practice. The surveys were sorted and used to compare the ratings for both groups of teachers. An independent t-test was used to determine if there were significant differences in the instructional practices used. Findings. Statistically significant differences were found between the responses of exceptional teachers and teachers who were not recognized as exceptional on the 6 instructional practices measured by the survey instrument. Exceptional teachers had higher means more frequently than teachers who were not recognized as exceptional, indicating they used the instructional practices more often during the instructional time. Conclusions. Teachers had an understanding of the importance of using a variety of different instructional practices to engage students in learning during mathematics instruction. The data validate how essential it is for students to have the skill and ability to communicate mathematical understanding both verbally and in written form. Recommendations for further research. (a) Include teachers in other states; (b) Include K-12 teachers; (c) Include focus groups and interviews; (d) Identify mathematics activities leading to applications of mathematical concepts; (e) Compare National Board Certified teachers to teachers identified as exceptional by other means; (f) Study characteristics of National Board Certified teachers; and (g) Relate data to student achievement.