Abstract
This chapter describes research on a continuing professional learning programme that was part of a national initiative to raise the standard of mathematics teaching in English primary schools. The aim of the Mathematics Specialist Teacher (MaST) programme was to create ‘maths champions’ who had the necessary skills and knowledge to be able to critically assess and construct pedagogical practices for their own settings, and to act as ‘agents of change’ in their schools. Focusing on how the programme developed an empowering discipline of noticing to enhance MaST teachers’ critical reflective skills, this chapter discusses the ways in which their reflections demonstrated increased awareness of their own pedagogical practice and of pupils’ thinking and understanding. We observed small, incremental changes to their practice, such as increased attention to particular aspects of mathematical language and vocabulary, deepening understanding of pupil learning, and the confidence to embrace a more experiential teaching approach. We suggest that their new ‘awareness of awareness’ enabled teachers to develop a language of description that allowed them to articulate and critique the choices they made within their practice, thus gaining agency as professional decision-makers as part of ongoing practitioner development.
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Barnes, Y., Solomon, Y. (2014). Empowering Teachers as Learners: Continuing Professional Learning Programmes as Sites for Critical Development in Pedagogical Practice. In: McNamara, O., Murray, J., Jones, M. (eds) Workplace Learning in Teacher Education. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7826-9_8
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