TURNING POINTS: USING TEACHERS' MATHEMATICS LIFE STORIES TO UNDERSTAND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MATHEMATICS EDUCATION REFORM

In this study, teachers' narrative descriptions of themselves as learners and teachers of mathematics were used to understand teachers' interpretations and implementations of a reform-oriented mathematics curriculum. Twenty elementary school teachers' mathematics life stories were categorized into six types, based on teachers' descriptions of both their early experiences with mathematics and their current perceptions of themselves as mathematics learners and teachers. The focus in this article is on the sense-making practices (noticing, interpreting, implementing) of teachers who told turning-point stories - those stories in which the teachers initially experienced significant failures in mathematics, but, as the result of a turning-point experience, now view themselves positively as both learners and teachers of mathematics. The importance of both the turning-point story and the particular meanings teachers attribute to this story for understanding teachers' specific practices in the context of reform are detailed here, followed by implications for curriculum design.