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TEN ROLES FOR MATH TEACHERS Cathy L. Seeley/Austin, Texas Real teachers in real schools face real challenges implementing the numerous standards and recommendations for mathematics teachers today. Many teachers reading the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM's) Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) and Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics (1991) get excited about the possibilities for new kinds of instruction just as they are also bogged down by the overwhelming expectations about how they should provide that instruction. Within the complex description these two volumes provide about what teachers should do and how they should act, ten basic metaphors seem to emerge about new teacher roles. Some of these roles may feel fairly comfortable to some of you, and other roles may remind you just how hard it is to live up to you own ideals as a teacher. The teacher as architect: Architects create the environment in which we live and work-both the buildings and the feelings they evoke. Similarly, the teacher as architect creates the learning environment for students. From the arrangement of furniture that facilitates discussion, thought and exploration, to the feeling students experience when they walk into the classroom, the teacher establishes an atmosphere where mathematics and learning are important. Most of all, the teacher creates a place where students feel safe to take risks and share ideas, while learning to value the opinions of each other. The teacher as composer: As a composer creates a musical score for performance by musicians, the teacher creates the tasks in which students will engage. Within the rich environmen t created by the teacher as architect, the teacher as composer designs or selects something for students to do that will engage their intellect, stretch their thinking, increase their mathema tical understanding , and expand their toolkit of how to solve problems in their real world.

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TEN ROLES FOR MATH TEACHERS

Cathy L. Seeley/Austin, Texas

Real teachers in real schools face real challenges implementing thenumerous standards and recommendations for mathematics teacherstoday. Many teachers reading the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM's) Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (1989) and Professional Standards for TeachingMathematics (1991) get excited about the possibilities for new kinds of instruction just as they are also bogged down by the overwhelmingexpectations about how they should provide that instruction. Within thecomplex description these two volumes provide about what teachersshould do and how they should act, ten basic metaphors seem to

emerge about new teacher roles. Some of these roles may feel fairlycomfortable to some of you, and other roles may remind you just howhard it is to live up to you own ideals as a teacher.

• The teacher as architect: Architects create the environment inwhich we live and work-both the buildings and the feelings theyevoke. Similarly, the teacher as architect creates the learningenvironment for students. From the arrangement of furniture thatfacilitates discussion, thought and exploration, to the feelingstudents experience when they walk into the classroom, the

teacher establishes an atmosphere where mathematics andlearning are important. Most of all, the teacher creates a placewhere students feel safe to take risks and share ideas, whilelearning to value the opinions of each other.

• The teacher as composer: As a composer creates a musicalscore for performance by musicians, the teacher creates the tasksin which students will engage. Within the rich environment created

by the teacher as architect, the teacher as composer designs or selects something for students to do that will engage their intellect, stretch their thinking, increase their mathematicalunderstanding, and expand their toolkit of how to solve problemsin their real world.

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• The teacher as movie director: Once a teacher creates thelearning environment and develops the tasks on which studentswill spend their time, the teacher as movie director steps in todetermine how the actors will relate to each other, their tasks, andtheir environment. The idea of discourse includes questions like:How will students interact with each other as they go through anactivity? What will the teacher do or say with students? Whatquestions from the teacher can push a student's thinking just alittle farther? What kinds of communication can really help astudent develop mathematical understanding? These elements of discourse provide a foundation for student's reflection andcommunication that can lead to the power of makinggeneralizations and reasoning mathematically.

• The teacher as stockbroker: Much as a stockbroker constantlyanalyzes the stock market, the teacher as stockbroker constantlyanalyzes the teaching and learning that occur within theclassroom. What worked today and what didn't work? What will Ido differently next time? What is worth the precious investment of my students' time tomorrow?

• The teacher as ship captain: When captains of large ships haveset a course, they cannot afford to sit back and wait until theyeither arrive at their destination or crash on the rocks. Shipcaptains must constantly be alert to shifts in weather, ship traffic,and coastlines, and they must be prepared for unexpecteddisasters. The teacher as ship captain deals with even moreunpredictable factors than nature and commerce and mustconstantly be evaluating how and what students are learning. Wecannot afford to wait until a student crashes on the rocks beforenoticing a pupil has veered off course. Rather, the teacher mustwork closely enough with students so that s/he is providingongoing course correction whenever misunderstandings begin.The teacher as ship captain may not always correct the studentdirectly or immediately, but rather, the teacher makes a decisionabout what kind of experience can help the student to get back oncourse in a meaningful and timely way.

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• The teacher as mayor: NCTM's standards describe themathematics classroom as a mathematical community, wherestudents and the teacher are actively involved in creating their learning experience. This learning community needs the strengthof a knowledgeable and compassionate leader who considers theneeds and talents of the student-citizens, while providing a visionof where the community is headed and support for getting there.Giving students responsibility for their own learning means givingup some control and creating a new kind of classroom leadershipthat truly guides, encourages, and enlightens along the way.

• The teacher as the red jacket: A traveler making a long trip islikely to pass through an airport hub like Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago,

or Denver. In these hubs, hundreds of planes land and take off and thousands of travelers make connections between flightsevery day. The teacher can serve the role of the person wearing ared jacket who greets the weary, confused and distracted traveler to assist in making connections. The teacher as the red jackethelps students experience the rich connections between thethreads of mathematics like algebra, probability, measurementand geometry. The teacher as the red jacket helps student seethe connections between mathematics and science, socialstudies, physical education and the arts. And most of all, theteacher as the red jacket helps students make the vital connectionbetween mathematics and the world outside of school.

• The teacher as student: Nowhere is a commitment to lifelonglearning more important than in teaching. Even if every teacher today were completely knowledgeable about teaching standards-based mathematics, using current technology, and understandingnew fields of mathematics, within six months or a year or twoyears, there would be a new need for professional development.Today's teacher cannot afford to remain static for more than a

short time when the world is in a state of dynamic flux and wedaily witness changes in technology, mathematics, schools,students, and society. In this setting, the teacher as studentmakes a lifelong commitment to professional development.

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• The teachers as recruiter: Mathematics teachers havetraditionally done a good job of encouraging students to pursuemathematics-related fields. Encouraging students to becomemathematics teachers, however, has often been something weare reluctant to do, especially for our favorite students (or thosewe are related to). We sometimes communicate that teaching isn'tas worthy a profession as other more lucrative options. If teachingisn't now a career worthy of our future adults, it is our responsibility as professional educators to transform it intosomething that is. The responsibility of the teacher as recruiter isto communicate not only to students but to the broader communityhow important and rewarding our profession can be. The ideal of teacher as recruiter is reflected in an experience shared with meby Kathleen, a teacher who recently received a PresidentialAward. As she stepped down from the platform after her statewideaward ceremony, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to seeher former high school mathematics teacher. Kathleen sharedwith her former teacher that she was the inspiration for Kathleenchoosing a career in teaching. As they were hugging, Kathleenfelt a tap on her other shoulder. She turned to see a former student who told Kathleen that Kathleen was her inspiration for becoming a teacher. We can all truly hope that the torch willcontinue to be passed from generation to generation so that someof our finest minds can continue to prepare new generations of 

students who can think and learn mathematically.

• The teacher as prospector: This is the bottom line of teaching.Picture the scene: You're in a cave. It''s dark, damp, musty, andcold, and you are surrounded by solid rock, with nothing but a dimbulb on your helmet and a pick-ax in your hand. But in the face of this bleakness, you keep chipping away and chipping away andchipping away, because you know that somewhere deep inside

that solid rock are some incredible uncut gems and some welldisguised nuggets of high-grade ores. That's why you became ateacher. That's what keeps you teaching when new expectationsseem unattainable.

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