Abstract:

The mathematics education field has made substantial progress in identifying equitable mathematical practices that enable children to engage in rich mathematics. Yet defining and articulating how teachers can learn to facilitate these ambitious practices in their classrooms has proven very challenging. Researchers have been striving to better understand how to design professional learning (PL) experiences that lead teachers to implement ambitious practices yet there is agreement that changes in instructional change are slow. This study takes a close-up look at one professional learning context to interrogate what and why one teacher learned, and how the experience impacted their classroom instruction five years after taking part in the PL program. Understanding teachers’ perceptions about the specific design features of a program that they believe impacted their learning brings an important new voice to this discussion. Taking a closer look at how teachers interpret their PL experiences - including what they remember, what knowledge they believe they gained, and what intentional changes they made to their classroom practice - may shed light on some of the mixed results from past studies. Deep qualitative investigations can offer critical insights into the specific ways that PL impacts learning. The research questions that guided this study are: 1) What content, pedagogy and resources did the teacher, Briana (a pseudonym), take up and continue to use five years after the PL program ended? 2) What design features of the PL program does Briana attribute to her sustained learning and growth as a mathematics teacher?

We consider the case of Brianna an instrumental case that illustrates evidence of significant growth over time and she offers an important perspective on the components of a specific PL project to which she personally attributes her learning. We collected the following data 3-5 years post the PL experience: a 33-question survey, including both Likert scale and open ended questions, videotapes of classroom practice and stimulated recall interviews. We qualitatively coded all data and developed assertions, triangulated by data, that highlight the aspects of PL as well as PL design features that shed light on teacher learning five years post PL. Findings reveal six assertions - major ideas support teacher learning and teaching:
1) collaboration with colleagues,
2) alignment of beliefs about teaching and learning with the PL,
3) having a knowledgable facilitator,
4) use of artifacts of practice support learning,
5) use of smaller bounded routines supported teacher learning and teaching, and
6) use of mathematical representations supported teacher learning.

Briana is a case of a teacher that is motivated and engaged. She clearly had a positive experience with the PL she attended and we have strong evidence of uptake five years post PL. Many of our findings are consistent with relevant research, provide more granular evidence about design elements and also contribute new understanding about a teacher’s perspectives about PL design elements related to her learning. Lastly, this study provides further evidence of the importance of studying teacher learning overtime. It takes time for teachers to incorporate new ideas into their teaching practice. More research is needed to continue to study the granular nature of design elements and how they impact teacher learning and contribute to theories of teacher learning.

Keywords:

Mathematics education, mathematics professional development, teacher learning, professional learning.