Assessment of Change in College Mathematics Teachers: The ISETL-based Abstract Algebra Project A preproposal submitted by John Selden, Visiting Scholar Department of Teaching and Learning, Vanderbilt University and Annie Selden, Associate Professor Department of Mathematics, Tennessee Technological University INTRODUCTION Curriculum reform projects seek to implement change in teaching approaches, curricula, etc. The ultimate objective is broad and permanent improvement of collegiate mathematics instruction, and consequently, an enlarged and improved technological work force (including women and minorities). Mechanisms that change the pedagogical perspectives of college mathematics teachers are not well understood. It is clear, however, that since college teachers have a great deal of freedom when it comes to courses, lasting reform cannot be dictated effectively from above. Furthermore, there is evidence that teachers in general have strongly held, often unexamined, personal pedagogies which guide their teaching. Thus, to implement lasting change, one must not only develop teaching approaches and curricula and disseminate them through conferences and workshops, one must also do so in a way that alters the fundamental attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and priorities of college teachers. Generally speaking, simple dissemination of beneficial ideas and approaches is often insufficient to effect behavioral change. For example, experience with inservice teacher training projects suggests that it is difficult to assure major shifts in practice. Thus, there is a need to understand whether and how college mathematics teachers change in response to curriculum reform efforts. PROPOSED PROJECT We propose to study the effects of one curriculum project workshop and subsequent implementation attempts on its college mathematics teacher-participants. ["Learning Abstract Algebra: A Research Based Laboratory and Cooperative Learning Approach," funded through NSF Research in Learning and Teaching Program, Ed Dubinsky, Purdue University, PI.] Specifically, we propose to study the teaching practices and personal pedagogies of the participants, i.e., their pedagogical and mathematical beliefs, attitudes, priorities, and behaviors. We plan to observe the workshop and evaluate how its college teacher-participants' personal pedagogies and behaviors are changed by it. We will gather interviews and self-reported data and evaluate participants' subsequent teaching practices, as well as their teaching environment and backgrounds in mathematics. 'Before' and 'after' comparisons will provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the project and workshop. In addition, a careful analysis of teachers' beliefs and working environments will provide a basis for assessing the breadth and stability of the changes, i.e., whether these go beyond the algebra course and are likely to last.