Professional development for out-of-field post-primary teachers of mathematics: an analysis of the impact of mathematics specific pedagogy training

Research shows that teachers influence students’ attitudes towards; performance in; and perceptions of a subject. Hence, the need to improve the teaching and learning of many curricular subjects has been well documented for many years. This paper focusses on efforts made to develop competence among out-of-field teachers of mathematics and evaluates the impact of one component of a continuous professional development (CPD) programme on teachers’ selfefficacy and self-reported teaching styles. As part of this CPD programme, teachers engaged in a series of subject-specific pedagogy workshops and while classroom observations were not feasible they did complete pre- and postworkshop questionnaires to determine the impact that these workshops had on their mathematics teaching efficacy and their reported approach to teaching, both of which researchers consider to be key to effective teaching. Analysis of the quantitative data showed that the workshops led to statistically significant improvements in mathematics teaching efficacy among participants, while analysis of the qualitative data highlighted a shift from procedural or teacherled approaches to more student-centred approaches that focussed on developing understanding. As such the programme was deemed to have a positive effect on the effectiveness of these teachers

Numeracy-Meets: An Innovative Professional Development Model for Adult Numeracy Practitioners in Ireland

Despite the clear and obvious need for adults to be proficient in numeracy, international studies suggest that many continue to struggle in this area. In Ireland, one of the main challenges continues to be the availability of effective adult numeracy education. This is a diverse sector, and little is known about the varied provision of adult numeracy courses and of those who teach on them. Recent research has highlighted an unmet demand for the professional development of adult numeracy practitioners with many looking for opportunities to network and further develop their practice. This study aimed to design, implement and evaluate a professional development model that supported adult numeracy practitioners in developing the necessary skills to support their students. After an initial needs analysis, a series of six ‘Numeracy-Meets’ were designed and implemented between February and May 2022. There was an average of twenty adult numeracy practitioners in attendance at each Numeracy-Meet. After all the Numeracy-Meets had taken place, five practitioners took part in individual semi-structured interviews to evaluate their experiences. This paper details the design, implementation and evaluation of these Numeracy-Meets and discusses whether they are a sustainable model of professional development for adult numeracy practitioners

Bridging the primary to secondary school mathematics divide: Teachers\u27 perspectives

The transition from primary to secondary school is regarded as one of the most difficult crossings in students\u27 educational careers. The move, which typically occurs between the ages of twelve and fourteen, can be particularly pronounced for mathematics. This article describes the results of a questionnaire distributed in the Republic of Ireland in which the views of primary and secondary teachers were ascertained with regard to the transition process. A total of 298 primary and 173 secondary teachers completed the questionnaire. Results showed that teachers at both levels identified similar issues such as a lack of continuity between curricula, a lack of knowledge of each other\u27s curriculum and a lack of communication between both levels. Many of the teachers\u27 suggestions on how the transition process could be improved centred on these issues, as well as highlighting a need to provide joint professional development opportunities for teachers

Teacher efficacy beliefs at the horizon between primary and secondary school mathematics education

A belief in one’s ability to enact change is central to personal motivation, and thus the way we behave (Bandura, 1993). More particularly, mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs encompass the extent to which a teacher believes that his/her teaching is capable of bringing about change in the mathematical understanding of his/her students, and the extent to which teaching in general supports the learning of mathematics for all students. Bandura (1993) further posits that teachers with a low sense of efficacy are less inclined to support students in responding constructively to challenge and may thus undermine students’ sense of self efficacy in relation to mathematics. This is particularly significant when students’ transition from primary to secondary school, a change that frequently has a negative impact on students’ achievement and enthusiasm for mathematics (Grootenboer & Marshman, 2016). This cross border research study sought to capture the mathematics efficacy beliefs of 6th class and Year 7 teachers in Ireland (Ire) and Northern Ireland (NI), respectively, as well as 1st Year and Year 8 teachers through the use of a questionnaire. Altogether, a representative sample of 428 primary teachers responded, 298 from Ire and 130 from NI and 248 secondary mathematics teachers, 173 from Ire and 75 from NI. The findings show a disparity in relation to teachers’ impressions of mathematics. Primary school teachers (57.8% NI, 57.5% Ire) consider mathematics easier than most subjects to teach with only around 10% of secondary teachers agreeing (8.1% NI, 12.9% Ire) (chi sq p<0.0001). All teachers reported a high sense of self-efficacy in relation to answering students’ questions in class as well as teaching all strands across the mathematics curriculum. Primary teachers were more likely to consider that students were well prepared in all strands of the curriculum upon exiting primary school than secondary teachers. This disagreement is more pronounced when considering Algebra than in any other strand (89% primary, 11% secondary). Particularly significant is that in NI, 72% of secondary teachers as opposed to 51.5% of primary teachers agreed that students have their minds made up about mathematics before they start in secondary school (p=0.006) pointing to a lower outcome expectancy. These findings are particularly pertinent considering that the national Growing Up in Ireland study capturing the transition of students from primary school concluded that the quality of students’ interaction with secondary teachers emerged as having a significant relationship with attitudes to mathematics (ESRI, 2017, 52)