NDLI: Where is the mathematics? Examining teachers’ mathematical learning opportunities in practice-based professional learning tasks

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Silver, Edward A. Clark, Lawrence M. Ghousseini, Hala N. Charalambous, Charalambos Y. Sealy, Jenny T.
Copyright Year	2007
Abstract	Using the work of teaching as a central resource, practice-based approaches to teacher professional development attempt to coordinate and link different facets of teacher knowledge to each other and to the settings in which the knowledge is used. Advocates for practice-based professional development argue that learning experiences that are highly connected to and contextualized in professional practice can better enable mathematics teachers to make the kinds of complex, nuanced judgments required in teaching. Yet, evidence is generally lacking regarding if and how teachers might enhance their knowledge of mathematics through such professional development experiences. In this paper, we examine data from a practice-based professional development initiative to illuminate how the professional learning tasks (PLTs) used therein made available opportunities for teachers to work on and learn about mathematical ideas. We analyze data collected from several sources (e.g., video transcripts, interviews, end of session reflections) in the BIFOCAL (Beyond Implementation: Focusing on Challenge And Learning) project, which was a multi-year, practice-based professional development initiative intended to support teachers of mathematics in the middle grades (grades 6–8). We identify four distinct, though highly interrelated, opportunities for BIFOCAL participants to learn mathematics within the project’s PLT cycle when anchored by a narrative case. We also present excerpts from professional development sessions to illustrate how teachers considered mathematical ideas in relation to the ways in which students think about these ideas, the pedagogical entailments of these ideas, and the consequences of teachers’ decisions based on these ideas. Our analysis suggests that teachers had many opportunities to learn mathematics—to build or strengthen connections among related mathematical ideas—and to consider these ideas in relation to how students think about the ideas and to a range of pedagogical actions and decisions that affect students’ opportunities to learn.
Starting Page	261
Ending Page	277
Page Count	17
File Format	PDF
ISSN	13864416
Journal	Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education
Volume Number	10
Issue Number	4-6
e-ISSN	15731820
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2007-10-16
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Mathematics Mathematics education Teacher professional development Teacher education Mathematical tasks Philosophy of Education Mathematics Education Teacher Education
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Education Mathematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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