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Mathematics Education Research Journal

, Volume 25, Issue 4, pp 503–521 | Cite as

Mathematics teacher professional development in and through internet use: reflections on an ethnographic study

  • Sitti Maesuri Patahuddin
Original Article
First Online:

Abstract

This paper is a reflection on a model for mathematics teacher professional development with respect to technology. The model was informed by three interrelated concepts: (1) a theory of teacher professional development from analysis of the field, (2) the zone theory of teacher professional learning, and (3) ethnography as a method. The model was applied in a study that focused on the uses of the Internet for primary mathematics teacher professional development, particularly to exploit the potential of the Internet for professional learning and to use it in professional work. This is illustrated through selected critical events over an eight-month ethnographic intervention in a primary mathematics classroom in Australia. Though the model is theoretically grounded, it opens up questions about the power, potential, and challenges as well as its feasibility, with respect to not only the teacher but also the ethnographer.

Keywords

Professional development Ethnography Zone theory of professional learning Intervention Internet 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The research on which this manuscript was based was done within doctoral study at the University of Queensland (UQ), supported by AUSAID. This manuscript was developed within the Wits Maths Connect Project at the University of the Witwatersrand supported by the First Rand Foundation (FRF) Mathematics Education Chairs Initiative, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF). Any opinion, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and not necessarily those of the funding agencies

I am grateful to Professor Jill Adler for invaluable feedback in the process of shaping this manuscript. I am also deeply indebted to Professor Merrilyn Goos and Associate Professor Shelley Dole for their unwavering support and thoughtful guidance during this study. I thank the participant teachers and the reviewers of this manuscript.

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Copyright information

© Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Inc. 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning and Education (RIPPLE)Charles Sturt UniversityWagga WaggaAustralia

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