Although the effects of Lesson study (LS), a teacher collaborative professional development approach, on teacher professional learning and students learning have been widely documented, the theories for understanding of LS has just emerged as a research field. Interconnected Model of Teacher Professional Growth (IMPG) and Documentational Approach…

To reform instruction by moving towards student-centered approaches, research has shown that faculty benefit from support and collaboration (Henderson, Beach, & Finkelstein, 2011; Speer & Wagner, 2009). In this study, we examined the ways in which a mathematician's instruction unfolded during his participation in a faculty collaboration…

Mathematics teachers develop understandings about instruction across multiple settings, such as classrooms, workshops, and professional learning communities. When teacher teams collaborate, their prior teaching and learning experiences meaningfully inform their sensemaking. However, current research does not explicitly link teacher conversations…

In this paper we examine how facilitators' prior experiences as mathematics teachers frame their work when facilitating a practice-based professional development (PD) for the first time. We focus on the experiences of a novice facilitator of StoryCircles, a professional learning process in which teachers collectively script and visualize a…

This study explored how two professional development approaches to reforming math instruction with different mechanisms for fostering change might have valuable synergies when used in tandem to support take-up, i.e., teachers' acceptance, adoption, and incorporation of ideas into practice. This investigation of Practice-Based Professional…

In this study, we examine how inservice secondary mathematics teachers working together on a contextualized problem negotiate issues arising from the ill-structured nature of the problem such as what assumptions one may make, what real-world considerations should be taken into account, and what constitutes a satisfactory solution. We conceptualize…

The following research report documents a professional development that focused on promoting understanding of algebraic learning progressions across vertical teams of elementary and secondary teachers. Analyzing quantitative data from the pre and post MKT assessment and qualitative data from lesson reflections and final course reflections,…

This study explored the connections between teacher leadership and a professional development model focused on problem-solving, Math Teachers' Circles (MTC). Surveys were completed by 213 MTC participants resulting in three years of data across multiple sites. A mathematics education leadership framework provided a data analysis tool. Findings…

This study is part of a larger research design project that aims to cultivate an online community of mathematics educators. The purpose of this smaller study is to suggest interventions that will further support community cultivation efforts. Social network analytical methods are used to study project participants' interactions in virtual spaces.…

We used a situative perspective to examine teachers' perceptions of a professional development intervention that integrated lesson study, video clubs, and animation discussions. The analysis of interviews with the five geometry teachers who participated in the intervention during two consecutive years showed three characteristics of professional…

This research highlights a university-school division collaboration to pilot a professional development framework for integrating STEM in K-8 mathematics classrooms. The university researchers worked with mathematics coaches to construct a realistic and reasonable vision of STEM integration built upon the design principles of model-eliciting…

Using data from a research project in Shanghai, China, this paper reports on an expert teacher's implicit 'Local Instruction Theories' (LIT) (Gravemeijer, 2004) that underpin his guidance of a junior teacher in lesson design and implementation. Our analysis focuses on the expert teacher's input to the junior teacher to help her understand how and…

Although the importance of mathematical problem solving is now widely recognised, relatively little attention has been given to the conceptualisation of mathematical processes such as representing, analysing, interpreting and communicating. The construct of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (Hill, Ball & Schilling, 2008) is generally…

A common practice in mathematics professional development to enhance teachers' content knowledge is to engage them in solving and discussing mathematics tasks. Yet, what is entailed in these experiences and how teacher discussions afford or constrain opportunities to develop teachers' knowledge of mathematics is not fully understood. In this…

Our study, situated within graduate-level courses for teachers focused on statistics, illustrates work across institutions for making sense of teachers' statistical thinking. Using a common assessment instrument, we identify and discuss four items that indicate strong statistical thinking and two that highlight concepts with which teachers…