Math Teachers' Experiences Learning and Teaching Math

Abstract In a charter school in the Southwest United States, elementary students were struggling to attain proficiency in math and have been failing to meet the standards in math on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test. As a result, these students may not have been prepared for more advanced math courses as they continued their schooling, and this failure to attain proficiency in math may continue to impact the school's ability to make adequate yearly progress. The purpose of this explanatory case study was to explore the perspectives of elementary math teachers toward teaching math, their preparation to teach math, and the possible influences they may have on their students' math skills development. The theoretical framework was self-efficacy theory. Data were gathered through questionnaires completed by 5 participants teaching kindergarten through 5th grade and through the investigation of archival data of their students' achievement test scores. Emerging themes were coded to record and organize relevant information. The participants indicated that they did not feel prepared to teach elementary math when entering the classroom after their teacher preparation programs and that they want to gain more content knowledge and learn more strategies to teach math. Social change may occur as the elementary math teachers are given a voice concerning the teaching of math, and this voice could be used in producing staff development and improving instruction.