Data Use for Improved Mathematics Teaching: The Importance of Productive Dissonance and Recurring Feedback Cycles

• In Event: Teaching Professional Learning in Mathematics

Abstract

Recent research has suggested that data use efforts in schools have not attended sufficiently to teacher learning. We report research on an intervention designed to put teacher learning about mathematics instruction center stage during data discussions in grade teams. An experimental component of the study indicated positive effects on teacher practice. Here, we use qualitative data to show how program components worked together to effect these improvements. The case of Ms. Owens highlights the individual and social nature of professional learning and the centrality of moments of dissonance. While a teacher’s stance towards reflective inquiry was a factor in whether she embraced moments of dissonance, equally important was how opportunities for collaborative inquiry provided scaffolding for instructional growth.

Authors

• Jolley B. Christman, Research for Action

• Caroline Brayer Ebby, University of Pennsylvania

• Kimberly Edmunds, Research for Action