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Research Issue or Problem There is a great deal of research surrounding reading strategy instruction and content-area literacy. Emerging literature includes the concept of disciplinary literacy in mathematics (see Draper, 2012) and distinguishes between content-area literacy and disciplinary literacy. However, limited research exists on the role of a curriculum facilitator in the teacher development process and enactment of disciplinary literacy in secondary mathematics contexts. Because I am new to the role of secondary mathematics curriculum facilitator, I am drawn to understanding how math teachers develop these practices, how experience shapes the decisions made by practitioners, and how a practitioner in my position leverages adult learning opportunities and supports these practices. How does a curriculum facilitator assist math teachers in learning and enacting disciplinary literacy instructional practices in a suburban high school geometry class? Phenomenon Teachers face the challenge of engaging our youth, cultivating classroom spaces that elicit interaction, navigating packed curriculum, meeting proficiency standards in core subjects (see CCSSI, 2010), and assisting students in developing college and career-ready skills. High quality disciplinary literacy instruction for all students is necessary to meet the demands of the common core language arts and mathematics standards, NCLB expectations, 21st Century skill agendas, and a litany of other mandates. In order to address these needs, teachers must engage in reflective planning approaches and multimodal learning, and provide effective vocabulary instruction. To acquire, understand, and utilize discipline-specific literacy strategies, practitioners require adult learning opportunities and professional development, which are areas that I develop and oversee for approximately 140 math teachers. I will examine adolescent literacy in the 21st-century and what is known about disciplinary literacy in mathematics to frame my investigation of teacher discourse and instructional use of disciplinary literacy strategies in high school math classes. Specifically, I will center on how teachers make sense of professional development content and enact disciplinary literacy tools and strategies in their classrooms. Mathematics teachers employ various instructional practices and design activities that students complete with the goal of developing conceptual understanding of mathematics. If the goal is conceptual understanding of mathematics, I need to investigate: How do teachers utilize disciplinary literacy strategies to support mathematics conceptual understanding by students? How do I learn the concepts of Geometry and support practitioners? How do I structure professional development and interact with teachers relative to disciplinary literacy adult learning? Methodology This research follows sociological, intrinsic case study following a descriptive design aimed at presenting a description of a math teachers conceptualization of disciplinary literacy practices and a curriculum facilitators role in his development. As such, I will integrate selfstudy as I interpolate my role as a curriculum facilitator alongside teacher learning of disciplinary literacy practices. Generally, I will conduct classroom and professional development session observations and generate retrospective field notes. From these notes, I will analyze and
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then code disciplinary practices observed. The selected teacher will be interviewed to gain understanding of the following: How do teachers make sense of the tools and strategies presented in professional development? What value do mathematics practitioners place on various disciplinary literacy tools and how do they align with the norms of the discipline (i.e. Geometry)? Which disciplinary literacy practices emerge in classroom practice? How did this practitioner prepare and plan for these examples? I will conduct a comparative analysis of the presentation and enactment of these strategies through artifacts, such as professional development documents and instructional materials, and field notes. Theory Multiple streams of literature provide the context for this study: adult learning theory, disciplinary literacy, pedagogical content knowledge, professional development models, and teacher development theoryeach of these is directly aligned to the TLTE Curriculum, Teaching, and Professional Development area of emphasis. Shulman's work (1986) provides a framework for understanding teacher knowledge in which he describes several layers that include both subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge. Subject or content knowledge comprises the series principles and concepts of a particular discipline. Mathematics teachers should understand the theories grounding algorithms, concepts and proofs reflected in standards documents and those used in the field. In addition to the subject matter knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, or knowledge about teaching itself, is an important aspect of teacher knowledge. How teachers construct learning environments and foster inquiry within students rests upon their pedagogical knowledge. This construct has been the focus of most of the research on teaching. What makes teachers effective? How do masterful teachers promote active engagement? Which skills manifest themselves in teachers' classrooms that have high levels of academic achievement and interaction? These are pebbles in the beach of educational research surrounding the pedagogy of teaching, which undergirds this study. After considering teacher knowledge, it is essential to investigate how teachers develop their knowledge and practice of teaching. Alexander and Fives (2000) describe the progression of teacher development in three stages, each marked by particular challenges that must be negotiated in myriad ways. These stages (acclimation, competence, and proficiency) are bolstered by knowledge, motivation, and strategic processing, which allows researchers to better understand what drives teacher actions and underlies their development. Initially teachers will exhibit knowledge of "what" and their understanding of "how" and "when" is much more shallow (Alexander & Fives, 2000). How can this framework guide the interpretation of classroom behaviors and interactions relative to disciplinary literacy? Useable Knowledge Teaching and learning are complex. Understanding how math teachers select and apply certain disciplinary literacy strategies in their context is important to recognizing the multifaceted, dynamic development of mathematics conceptual understanding by students and teachers. This study will help provide insights into the teacher development of mathematics educators relative to disciplinary literacy instructional practices. The results of the study will be

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beneficial for improving the quality of education offered to students and guide the district literacy team and secondary mathematics department in future professional development efforts. My problem of practice situates me at a unique crossroads in which I am defining my role as curriculum facilitator and learning how I can assist mathematics teachers in learning and then enacting disciplinary literacy practices with their students. Through simultaneously studying a curriculum facilitators role in developing mathematics teachers understanding and enactment of disciplinary literacy strategies: We might better understand the intersections of mathematics conceptual understanding and literacy practices, thereby blurring disciplinary lines and enhancing mathematics teaching and learning. Individuals in a curriculum facilitator role may better understand the practices, positions, and dispositions needed to support teacher development. Specifically, how does a teacher prepare to teach something never previously learned? How does learning for teaching occur? Literacy educators will better understand the disciplinary ways of reading, writing, speaking, and listening within mathematics contexts, specifically literacy coaches who may be in supportive or collaborative roles with mathematics educators. For example, they might better learn why a given mathematics topic or concept is central to a discipline whereas another may be somewhat peripheral.

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