Abstract
In this article, we describe a task-centric approach to professional development for mathematics teachers in which teachers’ learning experiences are focused on the selection and implementation of cognitively challenging mathematical tasks. We examined teachers’ selection and implementation of cognitively challenging tasks at three points in time: before and after their participation in the professional development initiative and during a follow-up data collection 2 years later. Data included instructional tasks, samples of student work, and classroom observations, and were compared between the time points to identify changes in teachers’ task selection and implementation and to determine whether these changes were sustained over time. Results indicate that teachers increased and sustained their ability to select high-level instructional tasks and to maintain the level of cognitive demand during instruction. All teachers, however, did not exhibit this pattern. Portraits of teachers who continued to select and enact tasks at a high level are contrasted with those who did not, and factors are identified to account for teachers’ current practices.
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Notes
A task can be a single problem or activity, or a set of related problems or exercises.
Teachers with at least 3 years of teaching experiences and an interest in improving their classroom instruction were recruited from the region. Not all teachers participating in ESP elected to participate in the data collection. At time points 1 and 2, only one teacher elected not to participate because she was on maternity leave and was not teaching. At time point 3, only seven teachers elected to participate. There are many reasons for this including unwillingness of school districts to allow researchers into their schools and teachers feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities.
Data were also collected from the 18 teachers during the winter of 2005, but is not the focus of the current analysis. For a complete analysis of data on the 18 teachers, see Boston (2006).
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Boston, M.D., Smith, M.S. A ‘task-centric approach’ to professional development: enhancing and sustaining mathematics teachers’ ability to implement cognitively challenging mathematical tasks. ZDM Mathematics Education 43, 965–977 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-011-0353-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-011-0353-2