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PUBLICATION OPPORTUNITIES. Would we be interested in your work? ³<HV´LIWKHZRUGVrural and mathematics appear often in your manuscript. We welcome distinctive and non-trendy scholarship. Empirical work (quantitative or qualitative) is a priority, but we will consider theoretical pieces, historical research or biography, and very well-argued commentary as well. Contact Craig Howley or Sandi Mills with an idea for an article.

Tab le of Co nten ts

Sandi R. Mills, Wingate University, Editor 2009-2010

Volume 9, Number 2 May 2010

Rural Math Educator

1. Craig Howley

Research Initiative 8SGDWH«««««««««««««««S

2. Craig Howley

Introducing the Seven-6LWH6WXG\««««««««««««S .

3. Johnny Belcher

Interview with Johnny Belcher, Researcher on Seven-6LWH6WXG\«S

4. Vena Long

ACCLAIM was there: Practitioners and Researchers Learning Together: A National Conference on the Mathematics Teaching and Learning of

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6. Updates

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DISCLAIMER. The Rural Mathematics Educator is produced at Ohio

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Research Initiative Update

The research work has enjoyed a very active winter. A variety of publications based on the seven-site

national study is underway, including a lengthy monograph, journal articles, conference papers, and a sympo-

sium.

/RFDOSDUWQHUVLQFOXGHWKH&ROOHJHRI(GXFDWLRQ¶V,QVWLWXWHIRU'HPRFUDF\LQ(GXFDWLRQFR-directed by

Jerry Johnson and John Hitchcock, and the College of Arts and Sciences mathematics department, home to

Robert Klein, who gathered data at two of the seven sites. Greg Foley, Morton Chair of Mathematics Educa-

tion, also helped gather data and has worked concertedly with Center doctoral students from Cohort III who

are choosing to complete dissertations at OU: Joseph Champine, Bruce Lewis, Sandi Mills (RME editor),

Wayne Nirode, and Richard Swearingen.

Seven-site National Study

At this writing (mid-April), the new monograph about the seven-site national study has been com-

pleted, and the 200-page manuscript is in the hands of our copyeditor, Erik Gunn. See the related article in

WKLVLVVXHZKLFKGHVFULEHVWKHVWXG\VLWHVDQGGLVFXVVHVWKHUXUDOPHDQLQJRI³SODFH-EDVHGHGXFDWLRQ´

The seven-site study, which began in 2006, gathered 85 interviews, 30 fieldnotes, and 27 classroom

observations, producing nearly 1250 pages of data (including 1,000 pages of interview transcripts)

(Publication imminent).

The research team continues to produce conference papers, symposia, and journal article manuscripts

for peer-reviewed publication based on study data. As reported last time, two papers were presented at the

2009 AERA meeting in San Diego, and a revised version of one of those papers recently received a revise-and

-resubmit nod from a prominent environmental education journal.

A new manuscript has been proposed for a special issue addressing place-based education to be pub-

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collaborative) is being revised for submission to a research journal. Individual paper proposals have also been

submitted to the North American Philosophy of Mathematics Education conference, and the Midwest Educa-

(3)

with place-based math initiatives²has also been accepted for a qualitative research conference. Thus, at this juncture,

the research team projects the development of eight publications from the study, of which perhaps half will appear in

peer-reviewed venues. Additional relevant publications are likely from the work described next.

Cross-case Analysis Underway

The new monograph reports seven individual case studies but does not provide a systematic cross-case analy-

sis. Cross-cases analysis is particularly useful for synthesizing findings that span individual cases. An additional

analysis, therefore, is also underway to develop such findings.

Dan Showalter (a graduate student in mathematics at Ohio University) has been hired to conduct the analysis

under the direction of senior staff. Coding will use a matrix approach initially grounded in extant single-site themes

and overarching contextual issues (educational levels, instructional venues, teaching specialties, etc.). Analysis, of

course, will also provide for emergent cross-case themes. Dan is reading a great deal about rural education and place-

based education in preparation for the analysis. The team has also decided that his preparation will not include read-

ing the new monograph, in order to maximize the advantages of bringing a fresh set of eyes to the data.

Follow-up Survey Planning

The Institute for Democracy in Education at OU has agreed to design and conduct a survey based on the find-

ings of the seven-site national study. This extension will probably develop an instrument and attempt to produce, on

some as-yet-to-be-decided basis, findings with some degree of generalizability. This was a task considered premature

when the seven-site study was designed. It was therefore was designed to raise a range of issues across the nation in

quite different rural settings²and these issues have been captured in the themes from each site and prospectively from

the cross-site themes in the ongoing analysis. Using the extant single-site themes as a basis for developing questions,

survey research can extend the inquiry to a single-state, multi-state, or perhaps a national population. The new study,

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$&&/$,0¶V0RQRJUDSK6HULHV

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reports, in contrast to the Working Paper series, which are shorter manuscripts (ca. 25-45 pages) intended for subse-

quent peer-reviewed journal publication. The monograph text has been completed and will be professionally designed

(4)

In order of publication, the three previously published monographs are:

Lucas, D. (2005). $UXUDOFRPPXQLW\¶VSHUFHSWLRQVRIWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIPDWKDQGPDWKHHGXFDWLRQLQ$SSDOD

chia (Monograph No. 1). Athens, OH: Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and In-

struction in Mathematics. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/acclaimruralmath/Home/acclaim-

publications/M01Lucas.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

Waters, M. S. (Ed.). (2005). A mathematics educator's introduction to rural policy issues (Monograph No. 2). Athens,

OH: Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assessment, and Instruction in Mathematics. Retrieved

from www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=ED491046

Larson, W., & Howley, A. (2006). Leadership of mathematics reform: The role of high school principals in rural

schools (ACCLAIM Monograph No. 3). Athens, OH: Appalachian Collaborative Center for Learning, Assess-

ment, and Instruction in Mathematics. Retrieved from www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?

accno=ED498435

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Introducing the Seven-Site Study

From 2006 to 2010, ACCLAIM conducted a seven-site national study of place-based mathematics education in

rural communities across the nation. The following Table shows the activity at each site.

Selecting the Seven Sites

How did we select these sites? Drawing on the knowledge of 58 colleagues in rural education, math education, expe-

riential education, science education, and outdoor education, we developed a list of rural 61 sites where the colleagues

knew, or suspected, that one or more educators was connecting the math curriculum to the community. We contacted

the sites and selected the seven listed above and described below. In selecting these sites, we were looking for variety

by geographic location, education level, and extensiveness of engagement with community- and place-based pedago-

gies.

At each site, during the 2007-2008 school year, a member of the research team interviewed teachers, students,

parents, administrators, and non-parent community members. Additionally, each investigator observed mathematics

lessons of various sorts, taught by self-contained classroom teachers at the elementary school, and at the secondary

level by math teachers, vocational agriculture teachers, science teachers, and in a few instances, by community mem-

bers. The investigator at each site also collected relevant documents such as instructional materials, newspaper arti-

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various activities and recorded information about those activities in field notes. See the preceding table for the data

collected at each site. The research team consisted of 12 members, split evenly between faculty and graduate students.

Site Interviews Classroom Obser-

vations

Field Notes

South Valley OH 14 5 2

Magnolia AL 8 3 3

Lafayette KY 11 2 2

Confluence District Collaborative NE 22 6 6

Green Mountain School VT 3 4 3

Eastcove ME 16 2 7

Meriwether-Lewis WA 11 5 7

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Johnny Belcher, a Cohort II ACCLAIM doctoral student collected data at Confluence Collaborative, the

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What were these sites like and what was going on there? The following paragraphs are excerpted from the full

report to give readers a sense of the diversity and engagement at the sites.

South Valley Elementary School. South Valley Local School District is a small district located in rural Ohio.

Ms. Ball, graduated from South Valley High School and now teaches six grade mathematics at South Valley Elemen-

tary. She engages students in a range of community-inspired mathematics projects throughout the year, including St.

-XGH¶VPDWK-athon, Relay for Life, Pi Day, and a stained-glass project that focuses on geometry and measurement in

creating artwork. For the Relay for Life project, students collect and track money, time laps, and graph results.

Magnolia City Schools. Magnolia City School District is located in a rural southern Alabama county where

55.65% of students receive free or reduced lunches. Magnolia City students participate in an aquaculture program and

actively maintain the fish environments (monitoring pH, population size, health), track and foster fish growth, and

eventually sell the fish at a community fish fry that generates funds to sustain the program.

Meriwether Lewis Junior-Senior High School. Located in a mountainous region of Washington, the school

had just over 250 students in grades 7-12 in 2007-2008. Ms. Jay is the only middle school mathematics teacher and

invites community members to her classes to describe the mathematics they use in their daily work. This has included

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groups of students through multi-step word problems every 2-3 weeks.

Eastcove Community School. The school has a student body (pre-K to 12) of just 71 students and is located

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the community). The principal and some teachers have instituted several place-based initiatives including the design

and construction of pea-pod boats and an all-electric vehicle that was demonstrated in Washington, DC.

Green Mountain School. This is the only non-profit private school in the study, though it does serve public

LQWHUHVWVE\HQUROOLQJ³WXLWLRQVWXGHQWV´VR-called in New England, where the practice is common). These students

come from local public school districts that do not maintain a school for one or more middle- grades. The school en-

(7)

6WXGHQWVHQJDJHLQ³WUHHSORWPDWK´DVL[-week project related to the local industry of timbering. They are

given tracts of land, shaped sometimes as triangles, circles, or other shapes and they gather data about the trees in their

plot, graph the results, calculate the worth of their trees, visit the mills, and occasionally present their findings to the

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Confluence District Collaborative. Located in a Great Plains state, the collaborative brings four school dis-

tricts into one administrative unit with one superintendent and central office staff. The schools in the district have pov-

erty rates at or below the national average of 17.4% and educate students from a wide geographic region. Moreover,

survival of the individual schools and districts involves significant sharing of resources, including teachers travelling

between schools to teach classes. In many ways, this was an anti-example or declining example given that most teach-

ers in the study tended to view place-based approaches as appropriate only for lower-level students or not possible

given the distance-learning technologies being used to solve the teacher travel problems.

Lafayette County High School. This school is a comparatively large school (over 1,000 students in grades 9-

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class in which students craft ukuleles from raw lumber over the course of the year. Each student makes two ukuleles:

one to keep and one to sell at a community show for funds to sustain the program. Measurement, scale geometry, and

trigonometry are emphasized connections.

Research Questions

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FRPPXQLW\2IWHQZHKHDUUHVHDUFKTXHVWLRQVOLNHWKLV³+RZFDQZHKHOSPRUHVFKRROVXVHSODFH-based instruction

LQPDWKHPDWLFV´7KHUHVHDUFKWHDPOHDGHUVKRZHYHUWKLQNVXFKTXHVWLRQVLJQRUHWRRPXFK²issues embedded, for

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IRUPRILQVWUXFWLRQGRHVQ¶WDLPWRFORVHDFKLHYHPHQWJDSVRUHOHYDWHWHVWVFRUHVDQGLW¶VYHU\WLPH- and labor-

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supports the making of such connections, but we wanted to keep the study descriptive and, to the extent possible, ob-

jective.

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(1) How do rural schools connect mathematics education to local communities and places? and (2) What con-

ditions enable and constrain their efforts? Our answers go well beyond the questions, because, in fact, the study was

framed by these questions to surface in the struggle to make such connections. We were not interested at all to derive

DVHWRI³EHVWSUDFWLFHV´LQSODFH-based mathematics education. A form of schooling conducted in the name of particu-

lar places, in fact, hardly lends itself to the development of a set of practices that would be best everywhere.

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search update notes, analyses are ongoing. Several members of the team, however, are involved in reflecting on issues

implicated by site-VSHFLILFILQGLQJVDQGZH¶OOUHSRUWVRPHRIWKLVWKLQNLQJQH[WWLPH:H¶YHDOVREHHQWKLQNLQJDERXW

what distinguishes place-based math education from community-based education and from environmental education.

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however, that place is a rural phenomenon. The position has scandalized some audiences, so perhaps the next install-

(9)

Interview with Johnny Belcher, Researcher on the ACCLAIM Seven-Site Study and ACCLAIM Doc- toral Student

We asked Johnny to reflect on his experience gathering data at our Nebraska site, the Confluence Col- laborative. His interviews produced transcripts that enabled a deep analysis of thorny issues at a com- SOH[ORFDWLRQIRXUGLVWULFWVZRUNLQJWRJHWKHU-RKQQ\¶VWUDQVFULSWVZHUHQRWDEOHIRUWZRVHHPLQJO\ contradictory virtues. First, his voice was very quiet. Second, he was remarkably good at keeping interviewees talking and focused on math connections. Actually, Johnny seemed to understand the web RILGHDVLQZKLFKWKHVWXG\¶VLQWHQWLRQVZHUHSRVLWLRQHGDQGWKLVXQGHUVWDQGLQJVHHPLQJO\HQDEOHGH[ cellent probes and redirects. We knew that his background had included counseling, and we were fa- miliar with his thoughtful contributions in classes. The study was lucky to have his help. We sent questions, and this essay is what we received in return. He shares his preparation as related to counseling, his experiences in the field, and offers very useful advice throughout for those of us who want to be- FRPHEHWWHULQWHUYLHZHUV:H¶YHLWDOLFL]HGVRPHRIWKLVFRXQVHOEHFDXVHLWVHHPVVRZLVHVXEWOHDQG useful. Most helpful here, perhaps, is the way Johnny models the combination of hard work, thought- fulness, and modesty that served the study so very well. Thanks, Johnny for that help, and for this one too.

My Masters is in Guidance Counseling in the Secondary School, but I am still a classroom teacher. I teach

Math and Physics and have done so for the last thirteen years. A portion of my preparation to be a counselor

focused on being a good listener. Most therapies emphasize the need for the client to find their own solutions,

whereby the counselor helps in facilitating the process. I was taught that it is very easy to impose my own val-

ues and judgments, which may or may not be with what the client is struggling.

When it comes to counseling students who need direction due to lack of experiences or parental involvement, I

have always felt the idea of the student finding their very own solution can be a slippery slope, possibly leav-

ing the student more confused than when I began my attempt to help. Because of the dual role of the coun-

selor and teacher as a listener and mentor to students, I have always felt that reality therapy is most prescrip-

tive in tough situations. In reality therapy the counselor helps the student to weigh choices based on real con-

sequences of decisions, basically helping students to make informed decisions. I have never felt it wrong to

model by my actions and give advice when students need direction. This is the reality of working with stu-

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However, when interviewing someone to gain an insight into their world, implied judgments in the wording of

scheduled questions or impromptu questions can lead the interview away from the real story. So, has my

counseling preparation been an aid in conducting an interview? Yes. The minute I begin an interview each

interviewee is presenting themselves in a way that guards their pride and self-image, even if the transcripts will

be held confidential. They are always talking to a real person (the interviewer) and thereby will behave as

they do in public. The same is true in counseling with someone. In counseling I was taught, and I know from

being an educator, that rapport must happen first before trust can be built between student and teacher, coun-

selor, or other helper. For an interview to yield guarded truths from the interviewee, there must be a feeling of

trust established. What makes this hard is it must happen in a short space of time (only the few moments be-

fore the interview begins).

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self as an equal to the interviewee. I do not want to come across as superior or inferior. I believe all of us are

equal in rights, the pursuit of happiness, the inevitability of death, and in the sight of God, but what I mean is

that people see themselves as belonging to a particular level of status based on many perceived factors. Being

PLQGIXORIRWKHUV¶VHOI-image can be helpful in your personal presentation of self. Pretending to be someone

you are not will quickly be detected, but being modestly confident will take you a long way in winning trust.

Be willing to be imperfect but not careless.

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into a public school with a three piece suit then I likely will be quickly detected as foreign to the setting. Much

like your personal demeanor, your clothes should fit the place. Dressing sloppy or careless can imply your

work will require the same attention. If a participant detects a lack of caring on your part then they will likely

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Persuading the interviewee to give their best effort based on the fact that they are extremely valuable to a worthwhile

quest for understanding is essential. Otherwise, you are likely to get hurried responses so as to speed along the inter-

view. This is especially true if working in a school with teachers who are usually coming to you under duress and a

tight time schedule. Students may be glad to be out of class and administrators may feel they are your host, but teach-

ers are typically afraid their absence will cause problems that they must fix when they get back in the classroom or

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minutes in an effort to promote understanding of worthwhile phenomenon is still very doable. Many teachers (despite

some stereotypes) entered their professions because of higher ideals of justice, equality, and purpose.

If you are working in a school setting be aware that you are in a climate of evaluation. Students, teachers, and admin-

istrators are likely to assume a visitor is there for evaluative purposes even if they claim they are not. While we pro-

tect our study sites through the anonymity of false names we do tend to offer judgments in our interpretations of the

data. For the most part students, teachers, and administrators will still give an honest account of their understandings

if they know there will be anonymity.

This gets a little tricky when doing group interviews. While interviewers may keep their bargain, other interviewees

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tential. While this action can never be prevented, it can be discouraged by implication. In opening statements with a

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place. Distract the attention from evaluative statements and subtly highlight more factual accounts by restating inter-

YLHZHHV¶WHVWLPRQ\ Restating in your own words so as to check for correctness of what the participant is trying to

convey will actually improve the quality of the interview. One can subtly restate evaluative statements of an inter-

viewee so as to reflect a less judgmental tone. If a student gives an account of a teacher who never calls on them to

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miss valuable data by passing judgments on student comments, but you can refocus the discourse so as to prevent a

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(12)

If they actually have this feeling, they will likely say it anyway, and it is not your purpose to explore quite tan-

gential inner feelings. By creating a fact session instead of a gripe session, the climate of the interview will

yield more from every participant instead of letting the more vocal participants dominate the interview.

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Sometimes, for instance, the story becomes why a phenomenon is not happening as opposed to how it is hap-

pening. Try to anticipate what direction your questions will go if the scheduled questions are yielding less

fruitful data. Take the following scheduled question from the study in which I participated as an example:

Our study focuses on mathematics instruction that draws on or makes use of local places and communi-

ties. How does what you do with your students fit in with this way of thinking about instruction?

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have activities that include place or community. But what if they do not do anything that they perceive as in-

cluding place? You would not want your interview to end on the first question. Each person has five senses at

their disposal, and these may offer important data when taking account of the whole study. Two follow-up

questions might be:

What is your perception of using the community and local place to teach mathematics?

What about this place would be conducive to or challenge this type of teaching?

If the teacher offers examples of using place or community in their teaching then two follow-up questions

might be instead:

What goes into the process of teaching in this way?

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Rehearse the scheduled questions until they become part of you. Create a list of questions that will allow you

to gain data if the questions do not yield the results you anticipated. Keep creating questions as new results

appear that will allow you to gain more information about each new turn in the study. In this way your data

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Be mindful of your time. I was at my site for one week. It can be easy to be sidetracked and to begin collect-

ing data that may not be a surrounding part of the phenomenon you are studying. My site included multiple

school districts who were sharing a superintendent and any resource they could find a way to share. The ne-

cessity for this came from the threat of school closure due to declining enrollments. Many of the classes were

being shared via distance learning technology. In some instances teachers were traveling in order to offer

classes at all sites. It was my deduction that this was a central issue in this school system which could dramati-

cally affect instruction in many ways. Because of this insight, it became part of the story. Based on my ex-

perience with this site, I would suggest always entering a site with an open mind and open eyes as to what di-

rection your investigation may lead. Each site is likely to be unique, and in possibly noteworthy ways.

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interview participants with a machine-like efficiency. So accept that inevitability up front and go out to map

the landscape. Look for areas you have not exposed or positions you have not represented. Positions may be

different job titles, students, parents, board members, community members, or teachers of different subjects.

Some of my data sources came to me when stopping to get fuel for my car or stopping to eat. My mind kept

working on the problem. Realize you are on the clock the whole time you are in the community.

Realize you are being watched. While eating at a local restaurant one night a community member and I began

talking and she commented that she was aware I was visiting the school. We talked some about the school

system and I used the opportunity to do an impromptu interview with anecdotal notes only. Her children had

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commented to me that our study was interesting and that the community should know I was there. She asked

if I would be willing to be interviewed by the local paper. Knowing there would have to be a follow-up by the

paper and that I could have my plan together by then I agreed. Of course, I immediately contacted the How-

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ment that we prepared if asked about the study. Perhaps the lady did not follow-up with the paper or they were

wise that an observer would rather attract little attention, but I did not get contacted for the interview. I was

not expecting this but was reminded if you enter rural communities and stay for any length of time you are

likely a blip on the radar.

Another challenge I experienced was keeping my own emotions in check when interviewing reluctant or

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She grinned and then allowed me to speak again. I have become accustomed to such comments and do not

react typically unless it is with a quip of my own or a diversion of humor, but I must admit she almost pushed

my button. She taught the upper-level math classes and her first response to including place in Calculus was

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sharing this story to stereotype upper-level math teachers (I am one myself), but I am sharing this with you be-

cause your buttons are likely to be pushed. I had to keep reminding myself that if I react, then I influence her

interview in a way that it might not have gone otherwise. She is telling her own story even in the way she re-

acts with me. I had not begun recording when she commented about my accent, but I did record the comment

in anecdotal notes for the day so those who reviewed the tape might look more alertly for my own error in con-

ducting the interview.

Any last bit of advice I can give would be this: be prepared to work hard. Make anecdotal notes through the

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(15)

ACCLAIM was there: Practitioners and Researchers Learning Together: A National Conference on the

Mathematics Teaching and Learning of Latinos/as

Announcement

:

We at the RME are proud to announce the addition of two new doctorates in the ACCLAIM family:

Dr. Geri Landry

University of Tennessee

Dr. Sharilyn Owens University of Tennessee

Comments from Sharilyn:

My dissertation topic came from a project I got involved in at The Ohio State University while a student in ACCLAIM. The title is "Professional Development: A Case Study of Mrs. G."

I am working part time at the community college where I have been for 7 years, and part time at Appalachian State University in the college of education

teaching elementary methods. I plan to do the same next year, as well as continue to write about the research I am involved with at OSU.

I am very grateful to ACCLAIM. What a wonderful opportunity and experience for me. Doctoral studies with ACCLAIM was a catalyst for many life-changing choices for myself.

Sharilyn

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Upcoming Conference Information

AMTE (January 2011)

The Fifteenth Annual AMTE Conference will be held in Irvine, CA on January 27-29, 2011.

2011 Conference Call for Proposals Deadline for proposals: May 14, 2010 Additional Info about Discussion Sessions

Click here to submit proposals (Link takes you to All-Academic website)

Preconference Proposal Form

NCTM (October)

2010 Regional Conferences & Expositions 'HQYHU&22FWREHU-8

%DOWLPRUH0'2FWREHU-15 1HZ2UOHDQV/$2FWREHU-29

Learn more about the Regional Conferences here

RSS (August)

The 73rd annual meeting of the Rural Sociological Society will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, August 12-15 at the Westin

3HDFKWUHH3OD]D+RWHO7KLV\HDU¶VWKHPHLVHow Flat is Rural? Diversity in the Age of Globalization. February 15 is the deadline for submission of proposals. July 21 is the deadline for receiving the conference rate at the hotel.

NREA (October)

The 102nd National Rural Education Association convention, in conjunction with the annual research symposium, will

EHKHOGDWWKH³&KDWHDXRQWKH/DNH´LQ%UDQVRQ0LVVRXUL2FWREHU-17, 2010. Committee meetings and preconference activities will be held on October 14th.