Expert mathematics teachers of African American middle and high school students

There is a lack of research in cognitive psychology regarding how experts teach African American learners. If mathematics teachers better understood how these expert teachers deliver instruction to African American students, such teaching could lead to increased performance in African American middle- and high-school math students. To explore how expert teachers practices and behaviors influenced student achievement, this study seeks to illuminate the world of mathematics teachers and their influences on African American adolescents. While limited quantitative studies suggest teacher behavior matters (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2000; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, 2002; Wright, Horn, & Sanders, 1997), there is a gap in the literature of studies that include rich, contextual data of how beginning, or novice teachers, best meet the learning needs of African American students in their study of mathematics. To situate the role of novice teachers and their influence on students in this qualitative interview study, expert mathematics teachers pedagogy and behaviors are explored.