About

Temple Walkowiak is an associate professor of mathematics education at North Carolina State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from the University of Virginia, completed in 2010, and both her undergraduate and master's degrees from James Madison University. Prior to her appointment at NC State, Dr. Walkowiak worked as a teacher and mathematics specialist for nine years in Virginia public schools. Her research focuses on the measurement of mathematics teaching practices in elementary classrooms, as well as teacher learning and development of knowledge, beliefs, and teaching practices in K-5 mathematics. She is involved in teaching courses such as Children's Thinking and Multiplicative Reasoning, Number Systems and Operations for K-5, Mathematical Modeling for K-5, and others related to elementary education and STEM leadership. Dr. Walkowiak is also a University Faculty Scholar and serves as a coordinator for various programs within the College of Education.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Data Mining
• Psychology
• Mathematics education
• Epistemology
• Management science
• Knowledge management
• Pedagogy
• Engineering ethics
• Social psychology
• Engineering
• Human–computer interaction
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• Measuring Mathematics Teaching Quality: The State of the Field and a Call for the Future

  Education Sciences · 2025-09-04 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  To better understand how teaching quality has been conceptualized and measured within the sub-field of mathematics education, we conducted a systematic review of 24 journals to identify instruments that have been used to measure mathematics teaching quality; which instruments have interpretation and use statements; and the validity, reliability, and fairness evidence for each instrument. We found 47 instruments with validity, reliability, and fairness evidence. These instruments primarily captured teachers’ enactment of specific teaching practices through classroom observations or student questionnaires. Some instruments captured approximations of practice through teacher questionnaires or interviews. Only two instruments presented an integrated interpretation and use argument (IUA) framework, although eleven included at least one component of an IUA framework. We found that measure developers were most likely to present reliability evidence and evidence related to test content, internal structure, and relations to other variables. They were least likely to present evidence related to response processes, consequences of testing, or fairness. These findings suggest that although there are many instruments of mathematics teaching quality, instrument developers still have considerable work to do in collecting and presenting validity and fairness evidence for these instruments.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Making the case for classroom observational instruments that attend to equity

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2025-03-14

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Positioning Students as Thinkers and Doers of Mathematics

  Mathematics Teacher Learning and Teaching PK-12 · 2024-09-01

  article

  Positioning students as competent goes beyond saying “good job.” Elevate the practice of positioning.

  PublisherDOI

• Exploring early mathematics through picturebooks: A case study in the context of Head Start

  Journal of Early Childhood Research · 2023-08-13 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  The purpose of the study was to better understand the phenomenon of exploring early mathematics through book reading. The study centers on Head Start and lays on Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework). Two sub-questions guided the qualitative single case study of six Head Start adult participants (teachers, parents, administrators): (1) What are Head Start participants’ experiences in exploring early mathematics through picturebooks? and (2) What do Head Start participants say about exploring early mathematics through picturebooks? Findings showed that participants expressed interest toward exploring early mathematics through picturebooks. Picturebooks were commonly used in the classroom but also accessible for families. Participants provided evidence of mathematics practices and discussions around mathematics in the school and in the home. The participants’ sayings and experiences in exploring early mathematics through picturebooks aligned with child development and contexts of learning, two cornerstones of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), but potential obstacles emerged. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Working more collaboratively to better understand teaching and its quality: Challenges faced and possible solutions

  Studies In Educational Evaluation · 2021 · 45 citations

  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Engineering ethics
  PublisherDOI

• Affordances and constraints of mathematics-specific observation frameworks and general elements of teaching quality

  Studies In Educational Evaluation · 2021 · 28 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science
  • Mathematics education
  PublisherDOI

• Developmental Trajectories for Novice Elementary Teachers: Teaching Efficacy and Mathematics Knowledge

  Journal of Teacher Education · 2021 · 19 citations

  • Mathematics education
  • Psychology
  • Pedagogy

  This study investigated developmental trajectories of novice elementary teachers’ efficacy beliefs (i.e., personal teaching efficacy and outcome expectancy) and their mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Overall, study findings indicated growth in participants’ personal efficacy beliefs and in various assessments for dimensions of MKT. Additional relationships between participants’ MKT trajectories and their mathematics efficacy beliefs trajectories were found. Findings from our study can help teacher educators, researchers, and school leaders in better understanding how novice teachers develop their MKT and their teaching efficacy beliefs during the teacher education program and in their first years of teaching.

  PublisherDOI

• The Nature of Feedback Given to Elementary Student Teachers from University Supervisors after Observations of Mathematics Lessons

  Mathematics teacher education and development · 2019-01-01 · 11 citations

  article

  This research explores the frequency and nature of mathematics-specific feedback given to elementary student teachers by university supervisors across a collection of post-lesson observation forms. Approximately one-third of the forms (n=250) analysed from five large universities had no comments related to mathematics.  Forms that did have mathematics-specific feedback varied in terms of the number of summary, strength, and suggestion (i.e., type) comments and in the pedagogical focus (e.g., tasks, discourse) of those comments.  Chi-square tests of independence indicated the frequency of forms with mathematics-specific feedback differed significantly by university. Results of additional Chi-square tests showed significant interactions between the type of comments and university and between the pedagogical foci of the comments and comment type.  Contributing factors and implications, including connectedness of the university supervisors to the programs, professional development provided to university supervisors, and the organization of the forms, are discussed.

  Publisher

• Mathematics teaching efficacy and developmental trajectories: A mixed-methods investigation of novice K-5 teachers

  Teaching and Teacher Education · 2019-10-21 · 27 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Validity Arguments for Instruments That Measure Mathematics Teaching Practices

  2019-05-13 · 4 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This chapter focuses on constructing validity arguments for instruments that measure mathematics teaching practices by comparing the process for two different measurement types, an observational protocol and an instructional log. We overlay two primary frameworks: Kane’s argument-based approach to validation (2013) and the sources of validity evidence from the Standards (AERA, APA, & NCME, 2014). Specifically, we highlight the similarities and differences in the proposed interpretations/uses of resulting data from the Mathematics Scan (M-Scan) versus the Instructional Practices Log in Mathematics (IPL-M). We also compare and contrast the types of validity evidence for the two instruments to test propositions for data interpretation/use.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• PROJECT ATOMS: Accomplished Elementary Teachers of Mathematics and Science

  NSF · $3.2M · 2011–2019

Frequent coauthors

• Sarah Carrier

  North Carolina State University

  11 shared

• Margareta Maria Thomson

  North Carolina State University

  8 shared

• Elizabeth L. Adams

  American Institutes for Research

  6 shared

• Robert Q. Berry

  University of Arizona

  6 shared

• Carrie Lee

  East Carolina University

  6 shared

• James Minogue

  North Carolina State University

  5 shared

• Stephen R. Porter

  University of the Witwatersrand

  5 shared

• Daniell DiFrancesca

  Pennsylvania State University

  4 shared

Awards & honors

• 2020-2021 University Faculty Scholar