Abstract

As teachers navigate the pressures of accountability associated with evaluation, this qualitative study sheds light on the benefits of using feedback from observations to improve mathematics instructional practice. Framed by interpretivist theory, twelve third to eighth grade mathematics teachers, along with their evaluators, were interviewed. The analysis of those interviews and relevant documents revealed their perceptions about teacher evaluation, observation, and feedback to improve mathematics instruction. As evidenced in the findings, in order for teachers to receive maximum benefit from the observation feedback received in teacher evaluation, they should possess a growth mindset and have access to elements of support as described in Rogers’s diffusion theory. The Diffusion of Innovation of Instructional Practices (DIIP) framework emerged as a new application of Rogers’s theory applied to individual teachers adding new instructional techniques to their practices. The components of the DIIP framework: innovation, communication channels, time, and social system, were identified within participant experiences and can potentially inform future teacher evaluation to positively influence mathematics instruction.