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The Consequences of Experimentalism in Formulating Recommendations for Policy and Practice in Mathematics Education

PAUL COBB is a professor of mathematics education at Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Box 330, Nashville, TN 37203; paul.cobb{at}vanderbilt.edu. His interests are in classroom instructional processes and learning policy

Kara Jackson

KARA JACKSON is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University, Peabody College, Box 330, Nashville, TN 37203; kara.j.jackson{at}vanderbilt.edu. Her interests are mathematics learning, socialization, and identity development across contexts and how to support teachers to provide access to equitable learning opportunities in mathematics for all students

In this response to Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008), the authors argue that the Panel’s assumption that only experimental research studies can produce scientific evidence limits the power of the Panel’s recommendations to improve mathematics teaching and learning. The authors first discuss the theoretical underpinnings, potential contributions, and limitations of experimental studies. Against this background, they focus on three issues that are central to improving mathematics learning and teaching, those of equity, the nature and content of textbooks, and graduate education. In doing so, the authors illustrate the limitations of developing implications for policy and practice by relying exclusively on research conducted using a single methodology.

Key Words: equity • mathematics education • research methodology

Educational Researcher, Vol. 37, No. 9, 573-581 (2008)
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X08327826


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				C. P. Benbow and L. R. Faulkner Rejoinder to the Critiques of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel Final Report Educational Researcher, December 1, 2008; 37(9): 645 - 648. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]