DR - K12 R&D Geometry Assessments for Secondary Teachers (GAST)

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Geometry Assessments for Secondary Teachers (GAST) represents a collaborative partnership among faculty and staff at the University of Louisville, the University of Kentucky, Florida State University, Alpine Testing Solutions, and Horizon Research, Inc. to develop a knowledge framework and assessments for secondary mathematics teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching. The framework for the assessments will be designed to collect validity evidence for predicting effective geometry teaching and improving student achievement. Geometry has become an important secondary school subject to prepare students for both postsecondary and work experiences. With the advent of new curricula and technology, the purpose and nature of geometry has changed dramatically in secondary schools across the country. Geometry teachers, to be effective, must have a deep and relevant knowledge of geometry and its applications. The framework of teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching developed by GAST teams of mathematics educators, mathematicians, and classroom teachers will describe the geometry knowledge needed by secondary teachers to teach effectively and improve student achievement. This project will apply models of teacher knowledge developed by researchers at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the University of Georgia to build the framework and subsequent assessments. The assessments will undergo field testing and psychometric analysis to in order to provide predictive evidence of effective geometry teaching and student achievement in geometry. Past research on secondary teachers' mathematics knowledge have relied on indicators of teacher knowledge like course grades,lists of courses, and teaching experience. GAST will provide measures of teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching that provide predictive evidence of classroom performance and student achievement.The framework and assessments developed in the project could be used by: (1) researchers to explore teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching and its impact on instructional practices and student achievement and to measure relationships among teachers' geometry knowledge, their attitudes and beliefs, their classroom performance, and student achievement; (2) project directors and evaluators of projects, institutes, and other professional development programs and postsecondary course instructors to assess the degree to which secondary teachers possess geometry knowledge for teaching and to determine program impact on this knowledge; and (3) mathematicians, teacher educators, school administrators, and practicing and prospective teachers to provide diagnostic information about teachers' geometry knowledge for teaching.