Rough Draft Math as an Evolving Practice: Incremental Changes in Mathematics Teachers’ Thinking and Instruction

This paper presents exploratory findings suggesting that mathematics teachers can implement Rough Draft Math (RDM) by making small, incremental changes that align with their current practices and local contexts, including curriculum materials, with minimal support. Following a conference presentation and/or reading a book about pedagogy, teachers reported shifts in their thinking that facilitated their interest in enacting RDM and small changes they made to their teaching. The flexibility of RDM, as a general concept rather than a set of prescribed practices, allowed teachers to incorporate RDM to meet their own teaching goals. We propose that this adaptability enables teachers to incorporate RDM into their classrooms incrementally, reflecting their existing objectives for their students.