The effective teaching and learning of mathematics through mathematical modeling and connecting mathematics to the real world has gained rapid growth at various educational levels all over the world. The growth in modeling practices in the United States of America (US) and the international community is the result of the development and implementation of new mathematics standards and curricula across the world. In this article, we report on the development and use of a quantitative instrument aimed at assessing teachers of mathematics attitudes toward mathematical modeling practices. Based on the responses of 310 practicing teachers of mathematics from the US, the mathematical modeling attitude scale was evaluated using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and other psychometric properties. The scale isolated four dimensions: constructivism, understanding, relevance and real-life, and motivation and interest. These 4 factors accounted for 59% of the variation in the 28-item measure. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the overall scale was .96, and that for the subscales was .93 for constructivism, .81 for understanding, .88 for relevance and real-life, and .89 for motivation and interest. The findings suggest a psychometrically useable, reliable, and valid scale for studying teacher’s attitudes toward mathematical modeling. We discuss the instrument’s merit for research and teaching, and implications for teacher education, professional development, and future research.

通过数学建模并将数学与现实世界联系起来，有效地进行数学教学，已在世界各地的各个教育水平上得到了快速发展。美利坚合众国（美国）和国际社会中建模实践的增长是世界各地开发和实施新的数学标准和课程的结果。在本文中，我们报告了一种定量工具的开发和使用，该工具旨在评估教师对数学建模实践的数学态度。根据来自美国的310位数学老师的回答，使用项目分析，探索性因素分析，确认性因素分析和其他心理计量学属性评估了数学建模态度量表。建构主义，理解，相关性和现实生活以及动机和兴趣。这4个因素占28个项目量度变化的59％。Cronbach的总体标度的α系数是0.96，而对于分量表而言的Cronbach系数是.93，对于建构主义而言是.93 ，对于理解而言是.81 ，对于相关性和现实生活来说，.88，对于动机和兴趣，是.89 。这些发现为研究教师对数学建模的态度提供了一种心理上可用，可靠和有效的量表。我们讨论了该仪器在研究和教学中的优点，以及对教师教育，专业发展和未来研究的意义。