The Contextual Nature of Teaching: Mathematics and Reading Instruction in One Second-Grade Classroom

Abstract

An ongoing research and development project that focuses on the mathematical learning of second graders has been attempting to develop a form of educational practice in traditional public school classrooms that is compatible with a constructivist theory of learning. Although the research has emphasized learning, implications for teaching that require a significant change in most teachers' practices and beliefs have also been investigated. The case study of the initial classroom teaching experiment presented in this article describes the manner in which the project teacher dramatically changed her practice and beliefs about teaching mathematics and illustrates that this change did not influence her teaching of reading. 3 explanations for the differential instruction in mathematics and reading derive from the nature of teaching, instructional activities, and school goals.