About the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC)
The Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC) was established with funding from the National Science Foundation (Award No. ESI-0333879).
The Center is a collaborative partnership of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, and the University of Chicago. Horizon Research, Inc. served as a partner from 2004-2012.
The CSMC serves the K-12 educational community by focusing scholarly inquiry and professional development around issues of mathematics curriculum. Major areas of work focus on developing leadership capacity related to K-12 mathematics curriculum design, analysis, implementation, and evaluation; advancing a research agenda related to K-12 mathematics curriculum, including the impact of curriculum materials on student and teacher learning; and creating an organizational structure that stimulates communication and productive collaboration among all constituents concerned with K-12 mathematics curriculum.
Since 2004 the Center has graduated 40 doctoral candidates who received specialized training in mathematics curriculum design, research, and evaluation. The graduates hold academic positions in institutions of higher education across the country. Many are pursuing research agendas related to mathematics curriculum.
Since 2004, the CSMC faculty, research associates and doctoral fellows have initiated and completed studies related to the curriculum research agenda outlined by the Center (see: http://mathcurriculumcenter.org/research_framework.php). These studies include analysis of state-level curriculum standards, historical analysis of the development of particular ideas within textbooks, documentation of teachers' use of curriculum materials, and investigation of the impact of different types of textbook materials on student learning. Thirteen books summarizing this work are available from publishers including the Conference Board of the Mathematical Sciences, Information Age, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Routledge. CSMC staff also contributed to the development of a Priority Research Agenda for the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) under the direction of Horizon Research, Inc. CSMC faculty, Research Associates, and Doctoral Graduates have pursued independent lines of research and service activities, prompted in part by CSMC networking.
The CSMC has also organized, hosted, and/or collaborated on five national conferences related to mathematics curriculum. These conferences have brought together curriculum scholars, policy researchers, curriculum developers, teacher educators, educational administrators, and practitioners. At least one conference series focused on interdisciplinary (STEM) initiatives. Another conference in 2007, K-12 Mathematics: What Should Students Learn and When Should They Learn It? stimulated discussion about the role and place of curriculum standards as school improvement instruments. More recently, the Center organized and hosted a research conference to discuss the affordances of digital textbook formats.
The Center has previously hosted two international conferences on mathematics curriculum:
Mathematics Curriculum in Pacific Rim Countries - China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore University of Chicago, Nov. 11-13, 2005 http://mathcurriculumcenter.org/internationalconference.php
Future Curricular Trends in School Algebra and Geometry University of Chicago and The Field Museum, May 2-4, 2008 http://mathcurriculumcenter.org/conferences/CSMC/index.php
For more information about CSMC, see: http://mathcurriculumcenter.org