Facilitation Practices in Mathematics Teacher Education that Promote Productive Identities in Preservice Elementary Teachers
Keywords:
Mathematics Teacher Educator, Preservice Teachers, Identity, Agency, Authority, Mathematics Content CoursesAbstract
Supporting preservice teachers in their development of positive mathematical identities is important because of their future responsibility as teachers to develop their own students’ mathematical agency. In this self-study, we investigated a mathematics teacher educator’s facilitation practices during discussions to understand whether and to what extent the preservice teachers’ mathematical identities were productively impacted. We analysed over 35 hours of video recordings of a mathematics content course for future elementary teachers and identified four key mathematics teacher educator facilitation practices that appeared to productively impact preservice teachers’ identity: emphasizing reasoning, promoting broader engagement, shifting responsibility for learning, and developing a supportive classroom community. We also analysed survey data on preservice teachers’ perceptions of their mathematical agency and authority. Implications for mathematics teacher educators are discussed.
References
Aguirre, J., Mayfield-Ingram, K., & Martin, D. (2013). The impact of identity in K-8 mathematics: Rethinking equity-based practices. Reston, VA: The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Allen, K., & Schnell, K. (2016). Developing mathematics identity. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School, 21(7), 398-405. http://doi.org/10.5951/mathteacmiddscho.21.7.0398
Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. (2017). Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics. Available online at amte.net/standards.
Ball, D. L., & Forzani, F. M. (2009). The work of teaching and the challenge for teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(5), 497-511. http://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109348479
Barron, B. (2000). Achieving coordination in collaborative problem-solving groups. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 9(4), 403-436. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1466763
Barron, B. (2003). When smart groups fail. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12(3), 307-359. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.bu.edu/stable/1466921
Boaler, J. (2002). The development of disciplinary relationships: Knowledge, practice and identity in mathematics classrooms. For the Learning of Mathematics, 22(1), 42-47. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40248383
Boaler, J. (2003). Studying and capturing the complexity of practice: The case of the ‘‘dance of agency’’. In N. Pateman, B. Dougherty, & J. Zilliox (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th conference of the international group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. S3–S16). Honolulu: PME.
Boaler, J. (2006). Urban success: A multidimensional mathematics approach with equitable outcomes. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(5), 364-369.
http://doi.org/10.1177/003172170608700507
Boaler, J. (2008). Promoting ‘relational equity’ and high mathematics achievement through an innovative mixed‐ability approach. British Educational Research Journal, 34(2), 167-194. http://doi.org/10.1080/01411920701532145
Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15. http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033008003
Borko, H., Koellner, K., & Jacobs, J. (2011). Meeting the challenges of scale: The importance of preparing professional development leaders. Teachers College Record, Retrieved from http://www.tcrecprd.org ID Number: 16358.
Borko, H., Koellner, K., & Jacobs, J. (2014). Examining novice teacher leaders’ facilitation of mathematics professional development. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 33, 149-167. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2013.11.003
Braathe, H., & Solomon, J. (2015). Choosing mathematics: The narrative of the self as a site of agency. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 89(2), 151-166. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-014-9585-8
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-42. http://doi.org/10.2307/1176008
Chapin, S., O’Connor, C., & Anderson, N. (2009). Classroom discussions: Using math talk to help students learn. Sausalito, CA: Math Solutions.
Chapin, S., Feldman, Z., Salinas, A., Callis, L. (in preparation). Design and Effect of Mathematics Content Curriuclum Units on the Achievement of Preservice Teachers.
Childs, D. (2017). Effects of math identity and learning
opportunities on racial differences in math engagement, advanced course-taking, and STEM aspiration (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations database. (Order No. 10270092)
Cohen, E. G., & Lotan, R. A. (2014). Designing groupwork: Strategies for the heterogeneous classroom (3rd ed.). Teachers College Press.
Elliott, R., Kazemi, E., Lesseig, K., Mumme, J., Carroll, C., & Kelley-Petersen, M. (2009). Conceptualizing the work of leading mathematical tasks in professional development. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(4), 364-379. http://doi.org/10.1177/0022487109341150
Engle, R.A. (2011) The productive disciplinary engagement framework: Origins, key concepts and developments. In D.Y. Dai (Ed.), Design research on learning and thinking in educational settings: Enhancing intellectual growth and functioning (pp. 161-200). London: Taylor and Francis.
Even, R. (2008). Facing the challenge of educating educators to work with practicing mathematics teachers. In T. Wood, B. Jaworski, K. Krainer, P. Sullivan & T. Tirosh (Eds.), The international handbook of mathematics teacher education: The mathematics teacher educator as a developing professional (Vol. 4) (pp. 57-74). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
Forman, E. A. (1996). Learning mathematics as participation in classroom practice: Implications of sociocultural theory for educational reform. In L. P. Steffe, P. Nesher, P. Cobb, B.
Sriraman & B. Greer (Eds.), Theories of Mathematical Learning (pp. 115-130). New York: Routledge.
Forman, E. A. (2003). A sociocultural approach to mathematics reform: Speaking, inscribing, and doing mathematics within communities of practice. In Kilpatrick, J., Martin, W. G., Schifter, D. (Eds.), A research companion to principles and standards for school mathematics (pp. 333-352). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Gibbons, L. K., Fox, A., Lewis, R. Nieman, H. (2016, April). Examining How Professional Development Facilitators and Teacher Educators Help Establish a Culture of Risk-Taking. Paper presented at the Research Conference of National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, San Francisco, CA.
Gresfali, M. S., & Cobb, P. (2011). Negotiating identities for mathematics teaching in the context of professional development. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 42(3), 270-304. http://doi.org/10.5951/jresematheduc.42.3.0270
Gresalfi, M., Martin, T., Hand, V., & Greeno, J. (2009). Constructing competence: An analysis of student participation in the activity systems of mathematics classrooms. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 70(1), 49-70. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-008-9141-5
Grossman, P., Compton, C., Igra, D., Ronfeldt, M., Shahan, E., & Williamson, P. W. (2009). Teaching practice: A cross-professional perspective. Teachers College Record, 111(9), 2055– 2100.
Gutiérrez, R. (2009). Embracing the inherent tensions in teaching mathematics from an equity stance. Democracy and Education, 18(3), 9-16.
Hand, V., Kirtley, K., & Matassa, M. (2015). Narrowing participation gaps. Mathematics Teacher, 109(4), 262-268. doi: 10.5951/mathteacher.109.4.0262
Kemmis, S., & Grundy, S. (1997). Educational action research in Australia: Organizations and practice. In S. Hollingsworth (Ed.), International action research: A casebook for educational reform (pp. 40-48). London: Falmer Press.
Lampert, M., & Graziani, F. (2009). Instructional activities as a tool for teachers' and teacher educators' learning. The Elementary School Journal, 109(5), 491-509. http://doi.org/10.1086/596998
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
Oppland-Cordell, S., & Martin, D. B. (2015). Identity, power, and shifting participation in a mathematics workshop: Latin@ students’ negotiation of self and success. Mathematics Education
Research Journal, 27(1), 21-49. 10.1007/s13394-014-0127-6
Schoenfeld, A. H. (2013). Classroom observations in theory and practice. ZDM, 45(4), 607-621. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-012-0483-1
Schoenfeld, A. H. (2014). What makes for powerful classrooms, and how can we support teachers in creating them? A story of research and practice, productively intertwined. Educational Researcher, 43(8), 404-412. http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X14554450
Schoenfeld, A. H. (2015). Thoughts on scale. ZDM, 47(1), 161-169. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-014-0662-3
Schoenfeld, A. H. (2017). Uses of video in understanding and improving mathematical thinking and teaching. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 20(5), 415-432. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-017-9381-3
Sengupta-Irving, T. (2016). Doing things: Organizing for agency in mathematical learning. Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 41, 210-218. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2015.10.001
Sengupta-Irving, T., & Enyedy, N. (2015). Why engaging in mathematical practices may explain stronger outcomes in affect and engagement: Comparing student-driven with highly guided inquiry. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 24(4), 550-592. http://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2014.928214
Turner, E. (2003). Critical mathematical agency: Urban middle school students engage in mathematics to investigate, critique, and act upon their world (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations database. (UMI No. 3120307)
Varelas, M., Martin, D. B., & Kane, J. M. (2012). Content learning and identity construction: A framework to strengthen African American students' mathematics and science learning in urban elementary schools. Human Development, 55, 339. http://doi.org/10.1159/000345324
van Es, E. A., Tunney, J., Goldsmith, L. T., & Seago, N. (2014). A framework for the facilitation of teachers’ analysis of video. Journal of Teacher Education 65(4), 340-356. http://doi.org/10.1177/0022487114534266
Zeichner, K. (1997). Action research as a tool for educational and social reconstruction. In Annual Meeting of the Brazilian National Association of Postgraduate Education and Educational Research (ANPED), Caxambu, Brasil.
Zeichner, K. M., & Noffke, S. E. (2001). Practitioner research. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (Vol. 4) (pp. 298-330). New York: Macmillan.
Zhang, M., Lundeberg, M., Koehler, M. J., & Eberhardt, J. (2011). Understanding affordances and challenges of three types of video for teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(2), 454-462. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.09.015
