guide to leading pd

GUIDE TO

James Calleja ©2015

Teaching & Learning Mathematics through Inquiry | CPD Leader’s Guide | 1

THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DESIGN

TASK-‐DELINEATED Solving mathematical tasks provides a first-‐hand experience for developing a learners’ perspective

INQUIRY-‐ORIENTED Providing opportunities for teachers to explore and learn through inquiry

PRACTICE-‐BASED Connecting activities to content and pedagogy situated and applicable to teachers’ classrooms

COLLABORATIVE Working together to develop shared practice within a community of practice

This PD programme design aims to provide teachers with opportunities to:

Understand inquiry learning while working on mathematical tasks;

Experience models of inquiry teaching through video-based discussions;

Become critical inquirers while designing, using and reflecting on their IBL

practices;

Present classroom experiences, share insights and collaboratively

construct learning of inquiry teaching;

Develop their identities as teachers of mathematics.

The four PD workshops are designed to focus on four research-based IBL principles. The

first session considers tasks for mathematical inquiry, the second deals with the role of

open questioning, the third session addresses learning through collaboration, while the

final session investigates student agency and responsibility. Workshops follow practically

a consistent pattern of activities. In the introductory activity, teachers work

collaboratively to solve a mathematical task. A video from a local classroom is then

introduced. The video demonstrates a teacher enacting the IBL principles in a local

classroom. In a third activity teachers are provided with individual reading and analysis of

narrative contrasting lesson cases. To guide the reading and analysis of these cases,

teachers are provided with focus questions to draw their attention to key aspects. A fourth

activity includes the analysis of a published lesson video (available on YouTube) focusing

on one of the four IBL principles. The ensuing whole-group discussion provides additional

opportunities for teachers to further investigate teaching approaches, clarifying concepts,

or problematizing issues related to teaching mathematics through inquiry.


ENGAGING TEACHERS IN LEARNING ABOUT INQUIRY Personal experience and research-informed knowledge about adult learners are carefully

considered and integrated in the design of the activities supporting and promoting

‘Teaching Mathematics through Inquiry’.

As adult learners, teachers …

At the beginning of the first session, the following three main aims of the professional

development sessions are communicated and discussed:

1. Exploring what inquiry-based learning is and how it may be enacted by

teachers in their classroom;

2. Discussing, analysing and evaluating inquiry teaching from the teachers’

perspective of classroom experiences;

3. Creating a learning community where teachers learn with each other and

from one another.

Each workshop then starts by delineating objectives specific to that particular session.

During the sessions, participants are also expected to assume active roles in setting goals,

determining activities, and deciding about the process and the outcome of their

professional learning.

Want to know what is expected of them

Value learning related to classroom prac8ce

Need to see links with their problems of teaching

Prefer to be consulted, heard and valued

Learn best in an unhurried and non-‐threatening environment

Like to integrate what they learn with what they already know

Learn with and from other teachers


GUIDELINES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEADER

PD leaders need to have expertise in the field of professional development, teacher

learning and inquiry-based learning. Thus, they need to be aware that:

Learners bring particular practice-based knowledge, experiences, skills

and beliefs about mathematics, teaching and learning;

Knowledge about teaching is constructed uniquely and individually

through interaction with a variety of tools, resources and contexts;

Knowledge about teaching may be developed and improved by

participating in collaborative activities with others working in a range of

contexts and facing different/similar challenges;

Learning about teaching mathematics through inquiry ideally involves an

active, inquiry and reflective process;

The person leading the PD should guide discussions, link arguments to the content of PD

(for example: the use of questioning techniques or collaborative work), and focus on the

organizational framework of the program. It is also critical to invest time and effort to

cultivate and establish a community of learners who trust each other. During the lesson

video analysis, for instance, this trust-building component may be important to establish a

working relationship where teachers feel free to critically analyse incidents and provide

their own personal understanding and meanings – even if these may not be aligned with an

inquiry-based learning perspective. This approach has been shown to be important for

fostering successful teacher learning.

The PD leader must engage learners to develop communication, to listen carefully to each

other, to raise questions and concerns, and to constructively criticise thinking and ideas

presented. Hence, it is vital to support learners to feel at ease enough for making their

practice public.

The PD leader is also responsible for creating a climate in which teachers feel confident

and safe to present, debate and evaluate ideas. It is his/her role to cultivate such an

atmosphere where learning about teaching mathematics through inquiry is both

supportive and non-threatening.


FACILITIES FOR LEADING THE SESSIONS

The ‘Teaching Mathematics through Inquiry’ activities require participants to discuss

and work collaboratively. Thus, professional development sessions would be more

successful in a room:

Having an arrangement where participants are facing each other is more likely

to support small-group discussions

Equipped with an interactive board, a projector and a sound system, as CPD

leaders would need to make use of power-point presentations and show videos

Equipped with a white board for whole-class presentations and discussions

guide to leading pd

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