Implementing inquiry-oriented curriculum: From the mathematicians’ perspective

• We draw on mathematicians’ own words to describe their teaching experiences.
• We explore inquiry-oriented teaching from the perspective of mathematicians.
• We explore the challenges and affordances of inquiry-oriented instruction.
• We identify factors that impact the implementation of an inquiry-oriented curriculum.

As part of an effort to scale up an instructional innovation in abstract algebra, several mathematicians have implemented an inquiry-oriented, group theory curriculum. Three of those mathematicians (co-authors here) also participated in iterative rounds of interviews designed to document and investigate their experiences as they worked to implement this curriculum. Analyses of these interviews uncovered three themes that were important to these mathematicians: coverage, goals for student learning, and the role of the teacher. Here, by drawing on interview data, classroom data, and first person commentaries, we will present and discuss each teacher's perspective on these three themes.