Chapter 19: Lessons Learned From Researching Online Mathematics Curriculum Supplementation

Since 2016, our research team has investigated the growing phenomenon of teachers’ online mathematics curriculum supplementation from virtual resource pools. Using Silver’s (2022) Teacher Curriculum Supplementation Framework to situate our work, we describe lessons learned about data collection, data analysis, and publication when researching the supplement’s source, teachers’ reasons for and use patterns associated with online mathematics curriculum supplementation, and individual curriculum supplements. When collecting data, researchers must be creative with purchasing strategies, purposeful use of filters, and contacting teachers. When conducting data analysis, researchers should define a unit of analysis early in the investigation, be prepared to collapse data in justifiable manners, and be clear about limitations regarding the shifting online landscape to describe results accurately. When publishing research, researchers should carefully choose frameworks to situate their work within established curriculum research and be prepared to face challenges regarding copyright and individual’s opinions of online curriculum supplementation.