The Role of the Teacher in Implementing the Standards

NCTM's Standards document sets forth a new vision for mathematics education. The changes envisioned will require teachers both to develop a deeper understanding of mathematics and to construct new understandings of the teaching and learning of mathematics. In the previous article in this series, a prototype was suggested for beginning to implement the Standards at the district level. For individual teachers to fulfill the goals of the Standards—improving the mathematical learning experiences for all students and enabling them to gain mathematical power—teachers must themselves be empowered. Empowerment implies that teachers cannot simply be handed a curriculum package and be told to “go teach.” Teachers will need to be empowered to make decisions not only about the curriculum but also about the nature of their own professional-development experiences.