“Educators committed to school reform will find this book of enormous value in understanding the role context plays in student learning. The authors demonstrate how material, human, and social resources can be utilized to support teachers in their efforts to increase student understanding. This book contains basic truths about the teaching-learning process that educators cannot afford to ignore.”
—Maureen T. Hallinan, Director, Center for Research on Educational Opportunity, Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame

“This book presents a brave, balanced explication of the challenges, success, and failures of schools engaged in supporting teachers of mathematics and science as they work to enact teaching for understanding . . . a strong guide for future work.”
— Glenda Lappan, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University

Teachers often want to learn new ideas and approaches to improve their teaching, but their efforts are often blocked by structural constraints in their districts and schools. How can schools overcome these barriers to provide more supportive environments for change? The authors answer this question through the study of six cases of schools and districts where teachers and researchers collaborated to develop teaching for understanding in math and science. This new book features:

• A new conceptual model of how school resources relate to teaching and learning, focusing not only on material resources such as time and money but also on human and social resources
• Methods that administrators can use to support teachers who want to improve their teaching of math and science
• Elements that professional developers should look for in a school environment when they are considering working with staff on teaching improvements
• Answers to important questions, including how schools operate as organizations, how they control work, how they respond to changes in their environment, and how they improve classroom teaching and learning