Abstract:

The Centre for Mathematics Education at The Open University has for 25 years been pursuing a distance and e-learning practice-based approach to supporting teachers of mathematics at all levels in developing their professional practice. Our courses take an experiential approach to teaching and learning. We transformed psychological and pedagogical constructs into teacher friendly commentary on mathematical tasks which form the core of our teaching. We encourage our students to try out these mathematical tasks themselves, reflect, and make use of this experience to inform the use of the tasks when teaching in the classroom.

This poster reports findings of a research project which investigated the influence our courses and materials have had on students and the effectiveness of the courses in terms of change in practice. The study probed what students recall as being significant learning for them during the study of a course and how this has influenced their actions up to the present. These instances were then linked to course components.

We will report on findings and evidence in response to the following research questions in relation to the experiential learning and teaching model adopted in the courses
1. What course aspects have changed practice significantly, and why?
2. Are there particular course elements that lead to lasting benefits?
3. What is the role of ‘frameworks of constructs’ featured in our courses?

Data consisted of about 280 responses to an on-line questionnaire and to semi structured interviews with 15 ‘focus’ respondents who had been selected using multiple criteria from the respondents of the on-line questionnaire. Findings suggest that an experiential approach has led to teachers changing and developing their approach to teaching using constructs encountered in the courses.

Keywords:

experiential learning, professional development of teachers of mathematics, framework of constructs.