Asynchronous mathematics PD: design and facilitation format effects on teacher learning

In this paper, we share the design and effects on teacher learning of a set of two-hour online mathematics professional development modules adapted from face-to-face video-based materials. The modules are designed to be used in three facilitation formats: project staff- facilitated, district leader-facilitated, or structured independent. The modules aim to impact teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching linear functions and effective mathematics teaching practices (MTPs; NCTM, 2014). Analysis of teacher learning, as related to evidence of the MTPs in teachers’ written reflections, found teachers demonstrated learning of key MTPs, and in particular, there were not significant differences by facilitation format. Results and implications are discussed.This project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), through NSF #1720507

Teachers’ PD uptake: how visual representations impacted mathematics teaching

This study provides an in-depth examination of two teachers who participated in a mathematics professional development project that focused on linguistically responsive teaching and what the teachers took up and used in their classrooms 3-4 years after their participation in the project. Survey, interview and classroom video data were analysed in order to explore the ways in which the teachers’ learning from the PD endured over time. Results indicate that the teachers remembered, continued to use and hone their use of visual representations as a strategy to provide access to English learners. These strategies and implementation use were aligned to the goals and intention of the PD. Furthermore, they extended and transferred this knowledge to other content areas and to remote teaching settings

Taking Stock of Common Core Math Implementation: Supporting Teachers to Shift Instruction: Insights from the Math in Common 2015 Baseline Survey of Teachers and Administrators

In spring 2015, WestEd administered surveys to understand the perspectives on Common Core State Standards-Mathematics (CCSS-M) implementation of teachers and administrators in eight California school districts participating in the Math in Common (MiC) initiative. From this survey effort, we were able to learn from over 1,000 respondents about some of the initial successes and challenges facing California educators attempting to put in place and support new -- and what some consider revolutionary -- ideas in U.S. mathematics education

Down the road: teacher’s perceptions and uptake of PD after several years

This study captured middle and high school teachers’ perceptions of what they learned from professional development 3-4 years after participating in one of three NSF funded year-long professional development (PD) projects. We surveyed teachers (n=66) from three different PD projects on the types of content, pedagogy, and resources that they remembered learning and continue to use when teaching mathematics. Results indicate that teachers remember and use many aspects from PD experiences 3-4 years down the road especially those they find relevant to their current teaching position. Most residual learnings from PD also appear to be highly aligned with the goals and intentions of the PD developers and researchers and these learnings have evolved through colleague collaboration and other PD opportunities

Classroom Observations: Documenting Shifts in Instruction for Districtwide Improvement

Even seemingly straightforward education policy ideas are interpreted and implemented quite differently as they make their way through the levels of the education system (Cohen, 1990; Cohen & Hill, 2001; Spillane, 2000). Complex ideas that lack clear and specific instructional guidance, like the Common Core State Standards in mathematics (CCSS-M) -- with their increased emphasis on rigorous and coherent content, standards for mathematical practice, and instructional pedagogies that support students' deep conceptual mathematics learning -- may prove challenging as teachers attempt to interpret and implement them in their own classrooms. The combination of limited instructional guidance for the CCSS-M and individual teacher variation (resulting from each teacher's different beliefs, skills, knowledge, and interests) leaves room for significant variation in how the central CCSS-M reform ideas are interpreted and implemented in the classroom. As such, there will likely be wide variation in teachers' instruction as they implement the CCSS-M in their classrooms.Yet if, as research has shown, teachers affect student achievement more than any other school-related factor (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005), Math in Common districts will need to understand and monitor how CCSS-M ideas are taught in classrooms in order to improve mathematics education for all students. Understanding the extent of teachers' instructional variation will help districts build on and spread best practices and support improvement of CCSS-M implementation

Video in the middle: Purposeful design of videobased mathematics professional development

In this article the authors described their exploration of a particular design element they labeled “video in the middle.” As part of the video in the middle design, the viewing of carefully selected video clips from teachers’ classrooms is sandwiched between pre- and postviewing activities that are expected to support teachers’ engagement in and learning from the video. These three elements (prevideo, video, and postvideo), taken together, comprise a videocase. Videocases can then be further sequenced to create a specified professional development (PD) curriculum. Purposeful selection of each video clip allows for coherence between the prevideo, video viewing, and postvideo activities, which in turn, supports the link between a given videocase and identified teacher learning goals. Incorporating a video in the middle design within a video-based mathematics PD environment can promote a detailed and focused examination of complex mathematical content, the relationship between pedagogical decisions and practices, and an unpacking of students’ mathematical thinking. It is essential to underscore the major role that facilitators play in video-based PD, and that the effective application of the video in the middle design is, in large part, dependent on skillful facilitation. The video in the middle design can be useful across different content areas and teacher education settings

Incremental Shifts in Classroom Practice: Supporting Implementation of the Common Core State Standards-Mathematics

Teaching mathematics is complex work. Effectively implementing the Common Core State Standards-Mathematics (CCSS-M) requires teachers to engage students in meaningful learning in which students make sense of mathematical ideas and representations, and communicate and reason mathematically. Teachers must also ensure that they are providing mathematical access to all of their students. Instead of expecting teachers to implement the large-scale changes called for in the CCSS-M overnight, change may be more likely and more sustainable if teachers are encouraged to shift their practice incrementally in a continuous improvement model (Star, 2016; Hiebert & Morris, 2012; Stigler & Hiebert, 2004).Accordingly, the expectation should be for small yet powerful changes that teachers can implement relatively easily in their instruction (Star, 2016). For example, teachers may initially implement manageable new ideas that make sense to them, such as:- Math talks to support students to conceptualize and represent operations- Structures and practices to support student-to student discourse in small group work- Counting objects to support students to sort, organize, and count by groups- Choral counting to engage students in reasoning, predicting, looking for patterns, and justifying things they notice in their counting.Incorporating any of the above changes can make small yet powerful differences in a classroom (Star, 2016), but it is the accumulation of these types of incremental shifts over time that will most likely result in the fullest implementation of the CCSS-M

Impact of the Design of an Asynchronous Video-Based Learning Environment on Teacher Noticing and Mathematical Knowledge

In this paper, we share the design and impact of a set of two-hour online mathematics professional development modules adapted from face-to-face vide-based materials. The “Video in the Middle” (VIM) modules are aligned with principles of authentic e-learning and can be combined in a variety of ways to form professional development pathways that meet the unique needs of a wide range of professional learning settings and contexts. VIM modules aim to support teacher noticing of student thinking and increase their mathematical knowledge for teaching. The VIM materials are designed to be used in any of three flexible asynchronous formats: independent, locally facilitated, or developer facilitated. Preliminary research results indicate that teachers appreciated the variety of formats, found the modules useful and engaging, and learned to appreciate and use visual methods for solving problems, including using color to distinguish and highlight the relationship between numeric, algebraic, and geometric models

Designing asynchronous video-based professional development for mathematics teacher educators

International audienceThe Video in the Middle (VIM) project is creating forty two-hour video-based professional development modules that can be combined in a variety of ways to form personalized pathways that meet the unique needs of a wide range of professional learning settings and contexts. The VIM asynchronous modules are designed to be used in three flexible facilitation formats: locally facilitated, expert facilitated, or independent/non-facilitated. VIM modules aim to support teacher noticing of student thinking and increase their mathematical knowledge for teaching linear functions. Preliminary research results indicate that teachers appreciated the variety of facilitation formats, found the online modules useful and engaging, and noticed, compared, and analyzed a variety of visual and numeric methods for solving linear function problems

Bringing the Common Core State Standards to Life Through Site-Located Teacher Learning Structures

While all California school districts have invested deliberately in teacher professional learning opportunities with a common goal of improving Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS-M) implementation, evidence from WestEd's work with the 10 Math in Common (MiC) school districts shows that districts' structures and strategies for implementing professional learning vary widely. Our data (gathered from interviews, grant reports, and other project documentation) point to some interesting and telling trends across the districts in relation to providing teachers with professional learning opportunities. First, we found that a majority of districts are making a shift toward the school site as the locus for teacher professional learning. Second, our data suggest a common shift toward professional learning that is more lesson-focused for teachers.These shifts across the MiC community toward site located, lesson-focused professional development likely signal districts' learnings about what it takes to support teachers' understanding and implementation of the CCSS-M in the classroom. This report explores these shifts further through four case studies that detail the approaches that several districts are taking to locate teacher learning at the site, and to tie learning to the specifics of developing lessons for classroom instruction