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A marriage of continuance: professional development for mathematics lecturers

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Abstract

In a 2-year project, we developed and trialled a mode of lecturing professional development amongst staff in our department of mathematics. Theoretically grounded in Schoenfeld’s resources, orientations, and goals (ROG) model of teacher action, a group met regularly to discuss both the video excerpts of themselves lecturing along with written pre- and post-lecture statements of their “ROGs”. We found evidence of improved teaching performance but more interestingly, identified key aspects of our practice and of undergraduate mathematics that received repeated attention and developed further theoretical insight into lecturer behaviour in mathematics. The trial has been successful enough to be expanded into further groups that now constitute a professional development culture within our department.

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Notes

  1. We note that what we refer to as lecturers are more often called instructors in the USA.

  2. Here we follow Artigue (2002) in considering pragmatic value as “productive potential (efficiency, cost, field of validity)” (p. 248) or how much can be efficiently accomplished using something and the epistemic value as a contribution “to the understanding of the objects they involve” (p. 248).

  3. A full bibliography of activity related to the project is available from the authors.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the support of a Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) grant funded through the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. We also recognise the collaborative work of the following team members on the project: Steven Galbraith, Mike Meylan, Claire Postlethwaite, and Steve Taylor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, The University of Auckland, PB 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    Bill Barton, Greg Oates, Judy Paterson & Mike Thomas

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  1. Bill Barton
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Correspondence to Mike Thomas.

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Barton, B., Oates, G., Paterson, J. et al. A marriage of continuance: professional development for mathematics lecturers. Math Ed Res J 27, 147–164 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-014-0134-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-014-0134-7

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