Mathematics Teachers' Professional Development: Making Sense of Multi-Strategy Teaching

Author: Yuan-Shun Lee(National University Preparatory School for Overseas Chinese Students),Fou-Lai Lin(Department of Mathematics, National Taiwan Normal University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 45, No.1
Date：April 2000
Pages：1-25
DOI：10.6300/JNTNU.2000.45(1).01

Abstract：

This paper discussed the changing process of how the two senior mathematics teachers, who used to teach in traditional teaching approach, step forward to multiple strategies teaching approach within three years. The strategy that promotes teachers' professional growth is based on the effective operation of an interactive team of three colleagues, which is organized on the basis of social activity theory. We found out that the interaction between colleagues results in the interaction between students and teachers and also results in teachers' own reflections. As a result, these two teachers were moving from traditional teaching approach toward multiple strategies teaching approach. The key point of their changes is due to the interaction between colleagues results in their concerns on students' needs and their considerations on students' learning difficulties. Two months after the interaction of the team, the first phase of their changes were observed, they were trying to apply the multiple strategies teaching approach. The second phase of their change is happened during the end of the first year. Although, they are continuing to apply the multiple strategies teaching approach but each of them did choices the strategies which fit themself. Their approach kept the same as the second phase during the second year. In the third year, they are becoming conservative in appling multiple strategies teaching approach, that is their third phase of changes. From the view of the community of practice models and activity theory, we found that the change of these two teachers is based on that they can freely propose their ideals of solving teaching problems and communicate their teaching experiences during the interaction of the team. These two teachers have shown autonomic identity in this social practice. This identity brings their spontaneously learning motive, and promotes them changing their teaching approach. In the literature, the learning theory of mathematics teachers is still developing. We believed that the process of growth of these two teachers in this study provided to us a better understanding of teachers' learning.

Keywords：teachers' professional development, teaching changes, multiple strategies teaching approach, pedagogical mathematics knowledge

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