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In 2022, the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics (ASSM), the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics: Leadership in Mathematics Education (NCSM), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) published an updated call for Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs) to support high-quality teaching of mathematics and to ensure equitable and effective mathematics learning for each and every student. These organizations reiterated the goal stated 13 years earlier in their first joint position statement of every elementary school having access to an EMS professional (1).
The research base on the value of EMSs for students and teachers has grown significantly since the release of AMTE’s Elementary Mathematics Specialist Standards in 2009 (2), securing EMSs’ important role in strengthening mathematics programs in schools and districts. Whether formally leading in the role of a mathematics coach or informally leading from the classroom (3), EMSs collaborate with colleagues either one-on-one or in grade-level teams to support shifts toward ambitious and equitable mathematics teaching practices in every classroom. These research-informed teaching practices provide opportunities for all students to learn mathematics through: deep engagement with the content and practices and processes; collaborative discussion and debate of their mathematical ideas with one another; and affirmation and leveraging of their diversities and mathematical strengths.
Who Are Elementary Mathematics Specialists?
Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs) are informal or formal leaders responsible for supporting ambitious and equitable mathematics instruction and improving student learning experiences at the classroom, school, district, county, or state levels. A specialist’s specific roles and responsibilities vary according to the needs and plans of each setting. An EMS may work with educators one-on-one (e.g., collaborating, modeling, co-teaching, coaching, mentoring) or in groups providing mathematics professional learning and support (e.g., to grade level teams, across grade teams, school faculty, district groups, administrators). An EMS may work with students as a generalist teaching all subjects, a specialist teaching mathematics to multiple groups of students, or an interventionist teaching mathematics to groups of students who benefit from more time or support or those who benefit from additional challenge. As indicated in Figure 1, EMSs may have a combination of student-facing (e.g., specialist or generalist teacher, interventionist) and adult-facing (e.g., grade-level mathematics leader or coach, school-level mathematics leader or coach, district-level mathematics leader or coach) roles. While the figure is not inclusive of every potential EMS role, configuration, or title, it is intended to communicate the range of support available for students and teachers and offered by these informal and formal leaders. Further, in their work, EMSs are influencers supporting families and communities to understand approaches taken to mathematics instruction as well as serving on committees to develop curriculum, assessments, and policies concerned with mathematics education. Whatever the setting or responsibilities, EMSs need a deep and broad knowledge of mathematics content, expertise in using and helping others use ambitious and equitable teaching practices, and the ability to lead and support efforts that help each and every student learn important mathematics.
Figure 1
Leadership Roles and Responsibilities of Elementary Mathematics Specialists (5)
Purpose
Purpose
Because most elementary teachers are prepared as generalists, those interested in serving as an EMS (i.e., generalist or specialist teacher, interventionist, leader, coach) need additional study of mathematics content for teachers and responsive mathematics pedagogy. As formal and informal leaders, EMSs also must understand the unique learning needs of adults, strategies for supporting collaborative and transformative professional learning, and approaches to advocacy on behalf of students, teachers, mathematics, and programs.
These guidelines detail the mathematics content, mathematics pedagogy, and mathematics leadership knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for the various roles and responsibilities an EMS may assume. The guidelines not only serve as a response to two of the action steps recommended in the recent joint position statement on EMSs (6) (see Table 1), but more importantly, they provide a vision for the preparation and ongoing support for EMSs regardless of where that preparation and support takes place (e.g., universities, regions, school districts). Table 1 displays the two relevant action steps alongside ways the guidelines could be used to support these action steps, and the rationale linking the potential uses with the action steps.
Finally, these guidelines are informed by prior articulations of: the knowledge needed by PK-8 students in mathematics; the knowledge needed for ambitious and equitable teaching of elementary mathematics; and the leadership and coaching knowledge domains for mathematics as well as for teaching and leading more broadly. For the full list of standards and policy documents influencing these guidelines, go to: http://amte.net/ems.
Audience
Audience
Because there are many teachers across the U.S. being called upon to fill specialized elementary mathematics teaching and leading roles and often without focused training, the audience for this document is any mathematics teacher educator working to support advanced elementary mathematics preparation. These Elementary Mathematics Specialist teacher educators (EMSTEs) support EMSs who lead, or are interested in leading, from their classrooms, within grade-level teams, and across their schools or districts. EMSTEs may work individually or collaboratively at the district, state, or higher education level and have a role in providing high-quality mathematics professional learning that not only prepares EMSs for their work, but also supports and sustains their district-and school-wide ongoing mathematics improvement efforts. When designing learning opportunities for EMSs, EMSTEs should consider EMSsʼ existing preparation in mathematics content, pedagogy, and leadership, as well as the expertise acquired from teaching and leading experiences. This information should be used in determining the duration and proportion of time focused on developing content, pedagogy, leadership, or the integration of related knowledge, skills, and dispositions (e.g., content-focused pedagogy courses).
When designing learning opportunities for EMSs, EMSTEs should consider EMSs’ existing preparation in mathematics content, pedagogy, and leadership, as well as the expertise acquired from teaching and leading experiences. This information should be used in determining the duration and proportion of time focused on developing content, pedagogy, leadership, or the integration of related knowledge, skills, and dispositions (e.g., content-focused pedagogy courses).
Organization of the Document
Organization of the Document
The document is divided into three sections by domain: Mathematics Content, Mathematics Pedagogy, and Mathematics Leadership. Listed below are the sections and the associated standards.
Mathematics Content: Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
C.1. Understanding Number Relationships and Structure
C.2. Generalizing Behaviors of Operations across Number Domains
C.3. Recognizing, Extending, and Generalizing Mathematical and Everyday Patterns
C.4. Exploring, Examining, and Enumerating Space
C.5. Investigating Questions and Interrogating Data through Statistical Problem Solving
Mathematics Pedagogy: Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
P.1. Knowing Students to Foster Positive Mathematics Identity
P.2. Planning for Responsive Instruction and Making Curricular Decisions
P.3. Implementing Ambitious and Equitable Mathematics Instruction
P.4. Assessing Student Understanding and Learning
Mathematics Leadership: Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
L.1. Advocating for Ambitious Instruction and Equitable Structures for Students and Teachers
L.2. Advancing Implementation of Ambitious and Equitable Mathematics Instruction and Assessment
L.3. Activating Continuous Mathematics Professional Learning and Program Improvement
L.4. Developing and Sustaining a Culture of Collaboration to Support Mathematics Teaching and Learning
Each section’s introduction provides details regarding the structure and features, followed by a list of the standards and indicators. The balance of the section provides descriptions and examples to illuminate the intentions of each standard and indicator. The pedagogy and leadership sections also include vignettes reflecting the broad range of EMS roles and the integrated nature of EMS work as shown with tags to relevant indicators. EMSTEs will likely find it useful to draw upon standards from a single domain or from across domains (e.g., content and pedagogy, pedagogy and leadership) due to the integrated nature of the domains as they design EMS professional learning or university courses. They should also consider how to prepare and support EMSs as they expand their identity from a role of predominantly supporting student learning to one that also includes supporting collegial learning of educators and mathematics program improvement (9).
Certification Programs
Certification Programs
Currently, almost half of the states in the U.S. offer a pathway for EMS licensure, certification, or endorsement. However, programs designed to prepare these professionals differ in substantive ways. Some are designed to transition elementary-certified teachers to middle school mathematics teaching assignments. Some focus on broadening and deepening the content and pedagogical knowledge of elementary teachers of mathematics. Others prepare elementary teachers for leadership or coaching responsibilities and focus on a combination of mathematics content, pedagogy, and leadership.
The following are recommendations for college- or university-based programs that prepare EMSs and emphasize a combination of mathematics content, pedagogy, and leadership.
Prerequisites: Teacher certification and at least 3 years of successful mathematics teaching experience.
Program of Study: To include
An appropriate proportion of each area: content, pedagogy, and leadership equivalent to at least 18 semester-hours or 27 quarter-hours. EMS programs may be a stand-alone series of courses potentially leading to an endorsement or certificate, or these courses may be part of an advanced degree program with additional credit requirements.
A supervised mathematics leadership practicum in which a candidate acquires experience supporting a range of student and adult learners, including:
elementary students (e.g., primary, intermediate, multilingual, neurodiverse); and
elementary school educators (e.g., novice, experienced, specialists, paraeducators) in a variety of formal and informal professional learning settings.
For a full list of resources to support development of EMS programs and ongoing professional learning, go to: http://amte.net/ems.
(1) AMTE et al., 2022; McGatha et al., 2015.(2) AMTE, 2010. The EMS Standards were revised in 2013 in response to the release and widespread adoption of the Common Core State Standards for School Mathematics (National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010).(3) McGatha and Rigelman (2017) provide a framework for describing roles of EMSs to include: elementary mathematics teachers, teaching math to more than one group of students; elementary mathematics interventionists, teaching math to students who may benefit from more support or further challenge; elementary mathematics coaches, working with adults to develop their mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge as well as their strengthen their mathematics identity and agency.(4) This phrase is used in alignment with the mathematics teaching practices advocated in Catalyzing Change in Early Childhood and Elementary Mathematics (NCTM, 2020) and other published positions of NCTM.(5) Rigelman et al., 2024.(6) AMTE et al., 2022.(7) The proposed actions are drawn from the Action Steps in the joint position statement, see AMTE et al., 2022.(8) At the time of this writing, there are 25 states with a state-level EMS license, certificate, or endorsement that can be added to a teaching license, and there is no national elementary mathematics-focused certification. This is in contrast to every state and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offering a reading specialist credential. (9) Chval et al., 2010; Knapp, 2017.
© 2024 by the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators
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