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Conceptual Framework
>> 5. Selecting Appropriate Professional
Development Strategies and Materials
5.1. Examining Classroom Practice
Increasingly, science and mathematics educators are recognizing the value of
focusing on classroom practice in professional development, illustrating how
teacher knowledge of content and pedagogy and the understanding of students
need to come together in the context of instructional decision-making. A number
of materials in the database were developed to facilitate that process. Some,
such as Making Sense: Teaching
and Learning Mathematics with Understanding (Hiebert, et al.,
1997), Structured Exploration:
New Perspectives on Mathematics Professional Development (Kelemanik
et al., 1997), and Number and Operations,
Part 1 & Part
2 (Schifter et.al., 1997), use examples of student work as
vehicles for teachers to deepen their own understanding of science/mathematics;
sharpen their understanding of how students think about key mathematics and
science concepts; and reflect on ways to enhance student understanding.
Similarly, Beyond Arithmetic:
Changing Mathematics in the Elementary Classroom (Mokros et
al., 1995) provides teachers with a meaningful link between their own
experiences and the classroom practice that the authors describe. Other
materials have a central focus on teacher work. For example, the
WGBH Teaching Math: A Video Library series,
Science Images: Visions of Effective Science Instruction (Annenberg,
1995), and Sense Making in
Science (Rosebery and Warren,1998) provide videotaped lessons
and suggest questions for professional development providers to use when
viewing the videos with groups of teachers.
Case Studies in Science Education (Annenberg, 1997) follow
several teachers over the course of a year as they identify and work on
challenges in their teaching.
Action Research: Perspectives from Teachers' Classrooms, edited
by Spiegel et al. (1995), describes the use of action research to help teachers
do a systematic study of some aspect of their own classroom practice. Finally,
Susan Friel's essay, addresses using cases to help teachers "make
sense" of teaching and learning mathematics.
Continue: 5.2.
Immersing Teachers in Inquiry
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