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There exists an increased focus on school mathematics, especially first-year algebra, due to recent efforts for all students to be college and career ready. In addition, there are calls, policies, and legislation advocating for all students to study algebra epitomized by four rationales of the Algebra for All movement. In light of this movement, there must be a clear consensus about what is taught in the name of algebra. Yet, researchers documented this is not the case. The present research proposes to unify the leading algebra standards and assessment framework documents to identify the key ideas of algebra. The analysis resulted in six key ideas: (a) Variables, (b) Functions, (c) Patterns, (d) Modeling, (e) Technology, and (f) Multiple Representations. Outlined is the research process and resulting unification of existing algebra framework documents, and consideration is given for its uses in educational policy regarding algebra and potential directions for future research.

There is a compelling need to develop an algebra teacher self‐efficacy instrument (ATSEI) as algebra continues to be considered a gatekeeper course for postsecondary educational and career opportunities, which is seen as a crucial piece in closing the achievement gap. This paper reports on the development and validation of the ATSEI, an instrument that measures two domains, Efficacy To Do School Algebra (Knowledge Efficacy, KE‐A) and Efficacy to Teach Algebra (Personal Teaching Efficacy, PTE‐A) along six categories. Four of the categories represented content standards (variables, functions, patterns, and modeling) and two of the categories represented process standards (technology and concrete models, and multiple representations). Through conducting an exploratory factor analysis across two phases, the instrument was reduced and refined from an initial 118 items developed from a curriculum analysis to 36 items that reflected two significant categories, Functions and Technology. The ATSEI measure is validated for in‐service mathematics teachers and thus provides an instrument to examine need and impact in professional development venues. The specificity of the ATSEI allows those working with teachers to be better able to support them in the field and in return positively influence the learning outcomes of the students they teach.

Instructional leadership efforts are complicated when leaders and teachers do not share areas of expertise. Leaders work to bridge this divide through a number of approaches, such as collaboration with specialist personnel and the development of leadership content knowledge (LCK). The purpose of this study was to explore the organizational factors that help shape the ways school leaders enact instructional leadership when supervising in areas of (mis)match. Interviews with n = 31 teachers and school leaders indicated that organizational factors influenced the ways in which leaders understood and enacted their roles related to instructional supervision. Evidence also suggested the presence of organizational structures that could be reframed as robust, intentional supports to help school leaders develop LCK.

This article describes results of a professional development (PD) program for inservice science teachers. The PD integrated experiential learning to enhance participants' literacy regarding energy production and associated environmental costs. The PD focused on six energy sources and environmental politics that must be navigated to make decisions about their sustainability. Participants toured energy extraction/production sites including coal mines, hydroelectric dams, wind farms, and nuclear power plants. At each site, participants encountered differing perspectives on the environmental costs and benefits of the energy sources. Group discussions allowed for sharing participants' thoughts on each perspective and mathematical modeling was used as a tool for evaluating each energy source. Data included pre-and post-content assessments and PD evaluation surveys. Analysis revealed the role that experiential learning played in changed perspectives on energy production, content knowledge growth, and impacts on the participants' own classroom teaching.

Interventions are implemented with greater fidelity when their core intent is made explicit. The core intent of this intervention was to increase access to higher order learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities or difficulties in mathematics through use of research and practice from the fields of special education and mathematics education. Four steps undertaken in the development of a Tier II fraction-based mathematics intervention designed to improve the conceptual understanding of students with learning disabilities or difficulties are described in this article: (a) articulation of a logic model, (b) delineation of intervention components, (c) analysis of reliability data related to implementation fidelity, and (d) pilot testing to measure implementation fidelity and student outcomes. Results of the pilot study demonstrated no significant effect for the component of technology; however, significant pre–post differences were found in the performance of all groups on their conceptual understanding of fractions as numbers.