Reflective Reform in Mathematics: The Recursive Nature of Teacher Change

Abstract

Historically, teachers have been criticized for verbalizing innovations while not acting on them. This study suggests that something more involved and complex may be happening as teachers move toward change. The study examined teachers' inner reflections and exterior manifestations as they participated in a mathematics reform effort. The article describes the analysis of three elementary mathematics teachers as they struggled with issues of reform and traditional teaching in relation to personal values and beliefs. Methods included observation, reflective dialogue, and group processes that took place over the course of a whole school year. Through careful analysis of the data, models evolved that describe how the participants mentally and experientially moved toward belief change. Intermediary steps included the teachers' use of visual images, verbalization, and experimentation. Findings revealed that the teachers devised personal, complex, internal and external feedback networks that integrated changes over time. Implications for future research are discussed.