INEQUITABLE PATTERNS OF PRACTICE
DISCUSSION OBSERVATION TOOLS
This project is focused on the design and study of a two-year professional development cycle for practicing elementary teachers. The professional development seeks to develop equitable discussion practices that are responsive to student contributions and attend to issues of equity over time.
Our contribution through this project will be to detail influences on teachers’ learning that contribute to improvement in teaching practice, examine how the subject-matter specificity of the professional development impacts teaching practice in mathematics and literacy elementary classrooms, and develop ways of improving teaching practice with explicit attention to equity. We identify three sets of questions critical to better understanding how key features of professional development and coaching impact teachers’ learning, behavior as measured by frequency and quality of engagement in leading discussions, and perceptions of learning and practice. The approach uses a combination of:
The research examines the impact of this combination of supports on teachers’ practice. We will investigate an additional variation on the work to determine whether there are differences between mathematics-focused and a general content approach, which will reveal the utility of such an approach in districts with varying constraints.
Goals
This project aims to design and study how elementary mathematics teachers’ perceptions of professional learning and influences on such learning, in combination with professional development focused on leading discussions, impact their skill and willingness to take up teaching that disrupts patterns of inequity in classrooms. By influences on teachers’ professional learning, we mean teachers’ beliefs about:- students and learning,
- contextual factors such as their relationship with administration or their status in the school community, and their
- readiness for, skill with, and implementation of the practice upon beginning the professional learning.
Our contribution through this project will be to detail influences on teachers’ learning that contribute to improvement in teaching practice, examine how the subject-matter specificity of the professional development impacts teaching practice in mathematics and literacy elementary classrooms, and develop ways of improving teaching practice with explicit attention to equity. We identify three sets of questions critical to better understanding how key features of professional development and coaching impact teachers’ learning, behavior as measured by frequency and quality of engagement in leading discussions, and perceptions of learning and practice. The approach uses a combination of:
- professional development,
- coaching support, and
- supported self-reflection.
The research examines the impact of this combination of supports on teachers’ practice. We will investigate an additional variation on the work to determine whether there are differences between mathematics-focused and a general content approach, which will reveal the utility of such an approach in districts with varying constraints.
- Teacher perceptions of learning and influences on teachers’ professional learning: What are teachers’ perceptions of their own learning, discussion-leading practice, and attention to issues of equity? How well matched are these perceptions with external measures? What supports do teachers perceive as impacting their learning? How does principal selection criteria, process, and communication with teachers about their selection impact teachers’ desire to engage in learning and their own perceptions of their learning and practice?
- Impact on teaching skill: In what ways does professional development focused on leading discussions in combination with peer and coach support impact teachers’ skill and willingness to engage in that teaching practice? In what ways do the professional supports impact teachers’ willingness and ability to disrupt patterns of inequity?
- Impact of subject-matter specificity: Does a focus on mathematics produce different outcomes than a generalized focus for teaching practice or perception of learning?