The effect of a professional development program workshop about problem solving on mathematics teachers’ ideas about the nature of mathematics, achievements in mathematics, and learning in mathematics (original) (raw)
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In many countries, problem solving in mathematics plays a substantial role in the syllabus, promoting the basic aim that pupils develop a deeper understanding of mathematics. However, in many countries there are few classrooms in which mathematics teaching through problem solving has truly been implemented. This article reports findings from a study of Swedish primary school teachers who, within a collaborative professional-development initiative, worked to improve their mathematics teaching, focusing on problem solving. Several studies have reported on the mathematical knowledge primary school teachers have, do not have, and ought to have. This article, however, does not evaluate the knowledge possessed by the teachers but instead focuses on how the professional collaborative learning initiative influenced the teachers' awareness of problem solving as content. The collaborative professional-development initiative had a cyclic design in which changes in the teachers' awareness became visible in their jointly produced lesson plans and pre-tests. Changes in these documents show how the role of problem solving in the teachers' mathematics classroom shifted in accordance with the historical development of problem solving as content in school: problem solving as a context , as a skill, and as an art.
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Teacher knowledge and beliefs are known to play crucial roles in shaping teacher teaching practice regarding mathematical problem-solving. Thus, assessing the teacher's quality of mathematical problem-solving can be traced through such three factors. This paper aimed at exploring the elements of mathematics-related beliefs, mathematics problem-solving knowledge for teaching, and problem-solving-based teaching practice needs to be improved by mathematics teachers. Some empirical findings of assessing those three factors from a two-year research project involving a total of 288 teachers from primary and secondary school on teacher's problem-solving were presented as the manifestation of teacher quality regarding mathematical problem-solving. More specifically, the teachers participating in such a research project were indicated to have beliefs0about natureoof mathematics, mathematics teachinggand mathematics learning ranging from Instrumentalist view to problem-solving view. Also, it was found that teacher problem-solving0content knowledge such as knowledge of mathematics problem and problem-solving0strategies was insufficient to hold a problem-solving instruction. Furthermore, the teacher's teaching practice, assessed by observing how the teacher participants guide their students to solve a mathematics problem following Polya's four stages of problem-solving, range from directive to consultative teaching. In sum, beliefs, knowledge, and teaching practice are discussed as three interdependent factors which determine the quality of teacher's mathematical problem-solving.
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The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 2000
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2010
This study investigates, through an experimental design, the effectiveness of a professional development program on teacher knowledge and practices and on student learning. The program consisted of a series of video-based modules designed to respond to needs of U.S. teachers, as highlighted by findings from the 1999 Third International Mathematics and Science Video Study. Sixty-four 6th-grade teachers from five low-performing inner-city schools participated in the study and were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. Measures included fidelity of implementation, teacher knowledge and practice, and student mathematics learning. The program did not impact significantly teacher knowledge or practices as measured in the study. An effect was found on mathematics learning for students whose teachers reached a certain level of mathematics content knowledge. Discussion of findings includes lessons learned about conducting and studying professional development, particularly in low-performing schools.
Journal of Physics: Conference Series
Teacher knowledge and beliefs are known to play crucial roles in shaping teacher teaching practice regarding mathematical problem-solving. Thus, assessing the teacher’s quality of mathematical problem-solving can be traced through such three factors. This paper aimed at exploring the elements of mathematics-related beliefs, mathematics problem-solving knowledge for teaching, and problem-solving-based teaching practice needs to be improved by mathematics teachers. Some empirical findings of assessing those three factors from a two-year research project involving a total of 288 teachers from primary and secondary school on teacher’s problem-solving were presented as the manifestation of teacher quality regarding mathematical problem-solving. More specifically, the teachers participating in such a research project were indicated to have beliefs about nature of mathematics, mathematics teaching and mathematics learning ranging from Instrumentalist view to problem-solving view. Also, it ...