Making Teaching Public in a Math Centered Learning Environment: What Did We Learn?
Our findings seem to suggest that teachers are motivated by learning mathematics in
ways similar to the ways that mathematicians do mathematics. Focusing on a program
in which teachers create a community around learning mathematics, opening their doors, and
working together to understand the mathematics they teach and how to design instruction
that enables student learning, can positively impact teachers' practices and, when
successfully implemented, raise student achievement. By providing opportunities for
teachers to enrich their content knowledge, work together on tasks of teaching and to see
models of teacher leaders, they begin to take ownership and responsibility for ensuring
they have mathematics programs in their schools that work for all students. This
suggests professional development initiatives might pay more attention to mathematical
content, focus on what students are learning, and use models that engage them in
collaborative practices around their teaching. The implications for schools include
finding ways to build common planning time into the school structure, ensure that teachers
have guidance in how to use this time in productive ways, and provide professional
development opportunities with the characteristics described above.
We also found system procedures and policy decisions can enable teacher communities to
grow and develop or can prohibit learning communities from being successful. Failed
learning communities seem to encourage teachers to leave those schools and/or districts in
order to find more supportive situations. In keeping with much of the research, we
found support and buy-in from the administration is critical at all levels in the process;
in schools without knowledgeable and supportive principals and district endorsement,
teachers were not able to create the environment they needed to collectively organize
their teaching for student success. In addition, given indications that our approach was
successful in raising student achievement in a school, an emerging question is what
infrastructure is needed to withstand continuing changes in leadership and turn over in
teachers.
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