Evolving Teacher Pedagogy Through Implementation of Mathematical Modeling and Participation in Responsively Designed Professional Development
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Joseph DiNapoli
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 11:15 AM
End Date
26-4-2024 12:15 PM
Description
Modeling with mathematics (MP4) is a mathematical practice standard that can be used to engage students in mathematical content standards as well as additional mathematical practice standards. Research has shown the benefits of mathematical modeling, but also the challenges teachers can face implementing modeling. This study aimed to explore how mathematical modeling professional development (PD) was responsively designed and facilitated to support teachers’ pedagogical goals (RQ1). This study also aimed to explore how my role as the designer and facilitator of PD evolved (RQ2) and how teachers’ pedagogy related to facilitating students’ modeling presentations evolved (RQ3) over the course of the 2022-2023 school year. An action research approach and the constant comparative method were used to address each research question. The PD sessions were responsively designed and facilitated (RQ1) through co-constructed professional development sessions and community building. My role as the designer and facilitator of the professional development sessions (RQ2) evolved from sharing research-based practices and focusing on teachers’ initial goal to leveraging teachers’ experiences and creating space for their additional goals. During students’ modeling presentations, teachers were more focused on making sense of students’ modeling solutions by asking questions that gathered information and probed for student thinking, while toward the end of the year, teachers focused more on increasing the validity of students’ modeling solutions through establishing context and orienting and refocusing questioning strategies (RQ3). A preliminary framework for analyzing teacher questioning/commenting during students’ presentations of modeling solutions is proposed based on these findings.
Evolving Teacher Pedagogy Through Implementation of Mathematical Modeling and Participation in Responsively Designed Professional Development
Modeling with mathematics (MP4) is a mathematical practice standard that can be used to engage students in mathematical content standards as well as additional mathematical practice standards. Research has shown the benefits of mathematical modeling, but also the challenges teachers can face implementing modeling. This study aimed to explore how mathematical modeling professional development (PD) was responsively designed and facilitated to support teachers’ pedagogical goals (RQ1). This study also aimed to explore how my role as the designer and facilitator of PD evolved (RQ2) and how teachers’ pedagogy related to facilitating students’ modeling presentations evolved (RQ3) over the course of the 2022-2023 school year. An action research approach and the constant comparative method were used to address each research question. The PD sessions were responsively designed and facilitated (RQ1) through co-constructed professional development sessions and community building. My role as the designer and facilitator of the professional development sessions (RQ2) evolved from sharing research-based practices and focusing on teachers’ initial goal to leveraging teachers’ experiences and creating space for their additional goals. During students’ modeling presentations, teachers were more focused on making sense of students’ modeling solutions by asking questions that gathered information and probed for student thinking, while toward the end of the year, teachers focused more on increasing the validity of students’ modeling solutions through establishing context and orienting and refocusing questioning strategies (RQ3). A preliminary framework for analyzing teacher questioning/commenting during students’ presentations of modeling solutions is proposed based on these findings.