(Toward) Developing a Common Language for Describing Instructional Practices of Responding: A Teacher-Generated Framework

In this article we examine an analytical framework generated by secondary mathematics teachers for tracking changes to their own instructional practices across time. We describe the journey of this group of teachers through professional development focused on improving instructional practice. In the midst of that experience, teachers struggled to find an analytical tool to examine one another's practices of responding to students' mathematical ideas and ultimately overcame this problem by considering the practitioner literature and their own experiences. We also describe how we adapted the framework to investigate its use for detecting shifts in teachers' practices, sharing findings obtained from its use. Lastly, we argue for this type of collaborative work with teachers as a means to develop common language for instructional practice.

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Knowledge and beliefs of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers in Sri Lanka and the impact on their instructional practices

10.5353/th_b5689279 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Gayanthi Malika Wadanambi

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Instructional Practices ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Secondary Mathematics ◽

Secondary Mathematics Teachers ◽

Knowledge And Beliefs ◽

The Impact

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Lesson Study with Preservice Teachers

Mathematics Teacher ◽

10.5951/mt.102.3.0186 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 102 (3) ◽

pp. 186-191

Author(s):

Mary T. McMahon ◽

Ellen Hines

Keyword(s):

Preservice Teachers ◽

Instructional Practices ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Lesson Study ◽

Secondary Mathematics ◽

Time Constraints ◽

Collaborative Reflection ◽

Secondary Mathematics Teachers ◽

Preservice Teaching ◽

Study Experience

The value of collaboration and reflection with peers to improving instructional practices is well known (e.g., Lieberman 1992; Little 1982; Little and McLaughlin 1993; Romberg 1988). However, practicing mathematics teachers are often challenged to find time in their busy schedules to collaborate with peers. Recently, during the implementation of a lesson study experience with a small group of preservice secondary mathematics teachers, we observed firsthand how lesson study could be used to encourage collaborative reflection among preservice teaching peers and how it potentially could be used to support ongoing professional development of in-service teachers while respecting their time constraints.

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Exploring the influence of pre-service mathematics teachers’ professed beliefs on their practices in the Sri Lankan context

LUMAT International Journal on Math Science and Technology Education ◽

10.31129/lumat.7.2.405 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Gayanthi Malika Wadanambi ◽

Frederick K. S. Leung

Keyword(s):

Teacher Beliefs ◽

Instructional Practices ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Secondary Mathematics ◽

Classroom Teaching ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Educational Context ◽

Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Research on impact of teacher beliefs on their practices has been recognized as one of the important aspects in the discipline of mathematics education. This study reports the results of a case study that gives an insight about the influence of professed beliefs of pre-service secondary mathematics teachers on their instructional practices in the Sri Lankan context. The pre-service teachers’ professed beliefs were examined by using a questionnaire of six-point Likert scale items. Data on instructional practices were collected through classroom teaching observations and follow-up post-lesson interviews. Qualitative analysis of the audio-taped classroom teaching observation transcripts was performed, using a list of sensitizing concepts that reflected flexible and rigid beliefs aspects. The results reveal that professed beliefs encouraged them to adopt flexible practices, but to differing extents due to the influence of social expectations and contextual demands embedded within this educational context

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What Details Do Teachers Expect From Student Proofs? A Study of Proof Checking in Geometry

Journal for Research in Mathematics Education ◽

10.5951/jresematheduc.49.3.0261 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 261-291

Author(s):

Justin K. Dimmel ◽

Patricio G. Herbst

Keyword(s):

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Instructional Practice ◽

Secondary Mathematics ◽

Proof Checking ◽

Secondary Mathematics Teachers ◽

Geometry Teachers

We investigated how secondary mathematics teachers check student geometry proofs. From video records of geometry teachers checking proofs, we conjectured that teachers have different expectations for details that follow from written statements than for details that are conveyed by diagrams. To test our conjectures, we randomly assigned 44 secondary mathematics teachers to 1 of 3 experiment groups (n & 13, n & 15, n & 16) in which they viewed and rated representations of instructional practice. Participants in each group viewed treatment or control versions of instructional scenarios and rated the appropriateness of the teachers' work in different segments of each scenario. We compared participants' ratings across and within experiment groups. We found that participants rated lower instruction that deviated from what we hypothesized to be their expectations, confirming our hypotheses.

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