So I began to look for more literature that might explain why this state of affairs existed. Why is it so difficult to apply these best practices in math classes? What are the barriers teachers face when they introduce them into their classes? For a description of my search and what I found, see my literature review, "More Complicated Than It Seems: A Review of Literature on Adult Numeracy Instruction" (Nonesuch, forthcoming).
I took my dilemma with the research to eight groups of people in BC who are concerned with teaching math. I sent out an invitation to do a workshop in which I would outline some of the research findings, and consult with participants about their reaction and their practice. Many groups of instructors were interested in participating, and in the end I did eight workshops: with the Fundamentals Articulation Committee, with the Math Articulation Committee, with three groups of ABE math instructors and tutors from three different colleges, and with two other more mixed groups, which included people who were instructors at colleges and school district programs, university faculty, tutors, and staff of community-based programs; a further workshop included people with a wider range of interest in math, including librarians and parents as well as math instructors. The groups varied in size from 7 to 21 people; in total, 90 attended the 8 workshops.
At each workshop, I began by presenting some of the research I had read, always including in some detail the best practices cited above, some of the findings in support of those practices and some material showing where some of them might be misguided or difficult to implement, along with some examples from my own experience.
First, I asked participants to indicate which of the best practices they had never heard of before, and almost without fail, they said they had heard of them all. Occasionally a participant in the workshop who was not an ABE math instructor—perhaps a new tutor or an administrator—would say they were unfamiliar with one or two, but generally they all had the same reaction that I had had—"I have heard of these before." The only one that I heard any disagreement with at this preliminary stage of the workshop was the recommendation about the use of calculators. This recommendation was controversial in the true sense of the word—some instructors disagree with any use of calculators at the basic math level, while others agree with the recommendation and teach appropriate use in their classes.
After this initial response, I asked participants for a more detailed response to the research, and particularly asked participants what made the recommendations difficult to apply in their practice. Following this group discussion, participants responded in writing in two ways: creatively, in small groups, and more matter-of-factly as individuals.