Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Martin Ratcliffe

Abstract

Project-Based Learning (PBL) in middle school math classrooms is a topic that has not been well-researched, even though math scores in the United States have been declining. In a school district in the Southcentral United States, the local problem was that teacher buy-in for PBL in middle school math classes was unknown, as current literature regarding administrator and teacher perspectives on teacher buy-in is limited. The purpose of the study was to explore current school district administrators’ and math teachers’ perspectives of teacher buy-in for PBL in middle school math in a Southcentral U.S. state. Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory contributes to the understanding that student learning is created through social interactions with others and formed the basis for the conceptual framework of this study. Basic qualitative research with semistructured interviews was the design for the study. Purposeful sampling was used to identify 10 participants: five current school district administrators and five middle school math teachers who had some knowledge of a PBL instructional model and had at least three years of teaching experience. Open and a priori coding was used to identify units of meaning. The results of these analyses indicated emerging themes of equipping teachers with autonomy, engaging all students in real-world learning, engaging students to build confidence, equipping teachers to meet external teaching demands, and empowering teachers to adapt and take control. School districts may benefit from the results of this study by embracing teacher perspectives when creating professional development to include leadership and coaching support that results in increased math student outcomes.

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