An Interaction Model of Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers Within a School

Author: Yuan-Shun Lee (National University Preparatory School for Overseas Chinese Students), Fou-Lai Lin (Department of Mathematics, National Taiwan Normal University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 43, No. 2
Date：October 1998
Pages：1-23
DOI：10.6300/JNTNU.1998.43(2).01

Abstract：

A discussion group of three mathematics teachers within a school was organized to discuss their teaching issues during their out-of class time regularly. Their discussion very often focused on the learning difficulties of their students. In order to improve students' mathematics understanding, the group tried to implement two fundamental ideas about mathematics teaching into their classes, namely mathematics sense-making and diagnostic teaching. Can the interaction of this group enhance teachers' professional development? If it does, why and how does this happen? This is an ethnography study. Two mathematics teachers and the researcher teach in the same school. Data collecting includes tape recording of group interaction, video-audio tape recording of each teacher's teaching, teaching notes, and profound interviews with teachers. The reliability of data analysis triangulates with the two teachers and the third party. Except both of two teachers confirm the content transcribed by the researcher, the encoding of data analysis reaches consistency with a third party. The validity of data analysis not only takes the ecological validity of the videotape of teaching, but also verifies with teachers' everyday talks and their teaching behavior. The research has found out that the way the colleagues interact makes their interaction with students in procession in the class, and the experience of interaction in between leads into the interaction between colleagues. The interaction between the colleagues and that between the teachers and the students are like an external circulatory system. Its circulation leads into the internal circulatory system formed by teachers' consistent awaring, solving, and reflecting towards their teaching problems. The external and internal circulatory systems interact with each other, and jointly create the interaction model of professional development of mathematics teachers. Therefore, the interaction model within a school induces a mechanism of teachers' long-term professional development.

Keywords：Professional development, Interaction model, Reflection

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