Publications

You're Doing Data Wrong: Ethical and Humane Data Analysis for School Leaders (2023)

Coming Soon! Our new book will be available here!

Over the years, after fielding to questions from perhaps hundreds of educators about school assessment results, I decided to write a series of books as helpful and practical guides. This is the first book in a series of three that will cover the who, the how, and they why of data analysis using assessment results. Other topics addressed include: the principles of ethical and humane data analysis, common pitfalls, understanding the mathematics of statistical analysis (without intimidation!), responsible and irresponsible decision-making, engaging with teachers, and much more!

Complex Numbers: Imagined and Realized Plots & Storylines of Enacted Mathematics Curricula (2019)

Now available on ProQuest here.

Mathematics is sometimes described as an “interconnected story” (Kaplinsky, 2019) about quantity and space. And yet characterizing the nature of its interconnectedness remains challenging. In my study, I applied Dietiker’s (2013) mathematical story framework to portray the coherence of mathematics instruction. My research represents the first fine-grained and side-by-side comparison of written curricular guidance and classroom discourse, analyzing the “mathematical plots” of several elementary school lessons. My findings suggest that authors of curriculum programs should attend carefully to mathematical plots, offering pellucid explanations of how to build or moderate the suspense of mathematical inquiry. In so doing, I theorize, authors might support teachers in enhancing the coherence of their lessons.

"It's School Organized Like a Giant Videogame!" Frameworks for Understanding and Studies of Impact on the Khan Academy (2017)

Available here.

Drawing on Vygotsky and participatory culture, I reviewed software used in mathematics education and, in particular, the Khan Academy. I described key features of the software, including its gamification elements, via an empirical analysis of both tools within the software and external user blogs. I argued that approaches to researching software in education are largely insufficient. Researchers generally fail to explore how and why teachers interact with tools as de facto curricular resources. I concluded by looking at a promising, and newer, curriculum-based framework for exploring educational technology that begins with unpacking the purposes of such tools (Remillard & Heck, 2014).

Rewriting myths about curriculum materials and content standards in mathematics (2015) 

Available here.

This chapter in a book for educational leaders discussed three common myths about curriculum materials and teachers and how they might be revised. The chapter offers recommendations for leaders seeking to support teachers in using curriculum materials.

The Common Core State Standards are at the center of the latest firestorm in American education reform. But this is not the nation’s first torrid experience with standards implementation. In Challenging Standards, Jonathan Supovitz and James Spillane bring together the collective knowledge of top education researchers who have both experienced and investigated education reform challenges in the past. Combining both evidence-based research and applied knowledge, the contributors share with educational leaders their accrued wisdom about implementing standards in classrooms and systems, building capacity through relationships, and navigating the fractious political terrain. Each section of the book contains a set of facilitative questions that will help leadership teams, book clubs, and professional learning communities connect the chapters to their work.

Citation

Remillard, JT & Taton, JA. (2015). Rewriting myths about curriculum materials and content standards in mathematics. In J Supovitz & J Spillane (Eds.), Challenging Standards: Navigating Conflict and Building Capacity in the Era of the Common Core (Chapter 5). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Other Publications

Wladis C, Sencindiver B, Offenholley K, Jaffe E, Taton JA (2022 February). Student definitions of equivalence: structural vs. operational conceptions, and extracted vs. stipulated definition construction. In J Hodgen & E Geraniou (Eds.), Proceedings of CERME-12.

Taton JA & Anderson C (2015). On hamburgers and high ceilings: Mathematical knowledge for teaching and professional learning in the Philadelphia Area Math Teachers’ Circle. MTCircular, Summer/Autumn.

Taton JA (2015). Much more than it’s cooked-up to be: Reflections on doing math and teachers’ professional learning. Perspectives in Urban Education, 12(1). Reprinted with permission in the ATMOPAV Newsletter (http://atmopav.com/).

Comparative analysis of 5 curriculum programs

Remillard J, Taton JA, Lim V, Maloney T, Reinke L (2010). Review of Mathematics Teaching, Learning, and Liberation in the Lives of Black Children. Anthropology in Education Quarterly, 41(2), 210–212.