Getting Comfortable: Delegating Authority While Positioning Students with Agency in Elementary Mathematics Classrooms

Author

Mary Ramos-Duke, Boise State UniversityFollow

Publication Date

5-2024

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

4-2-2024

Type of Culminating Activity

Dissertation

Degree Title

Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction

Department Filter

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Foundational Studies

Supervisory Committee Chair

Sara Hagenah-Adams, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Michael Jarry-Shore, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Joe Champion, Ph.D.

Supervisory Committee Member

Arturo Rodriguez, Ph.D.

Abstract

This multiple case study explores how two elementary mathematics teachers made themselves and their students comfortable with the teacher delegating authority to students while also positioning them with agency. I conducted three Video-Stimulated Recall (VSR) interviews and pre- and post-semi-structured interviews with each teacher to understand their practices and thoughts about moments in their teaching related to authority and agency. The presented theoretical framework focused on three factors possibly contributing to the comfort of teachers and students when teachers delegate authority to students while positioning them with agency: getting to know the students by (a) understanding students’ thinking, (b) accounting for students’ knowledge, culture, and language, and (c) tending to students’ emotions in tandem with mathematics instruction. The results indicated that while one teacher was quite comfortable delegating authority and positioning students with agency, the other teacher had some reservations. Additionally, the results demonstrated that teachers sought to make themselves and their students comfortable with teachers delegating authority and positioning students with agency by taking the time to think and getting to know their students by understanding their students’ thinking, accounting for students’ knowledge and language, and tending to students’ emotions.

Comments

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6106-7629

DOI

https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2251.boisestate

Recommended Citation

Ramos-Duke, Mary, "Getting Comfortable: Delegating Authority While Positioning Students with Agency in Elementary Mathematics Classrooms" (2024). Boise State University Theses and Dissertations. 2251.
https://doi.org/10.18122/td.2251.boisestate