Understanding Change Within Discussions of Mathematics Teacher Professional Learning Communities: Methodological Frameworks

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Teacher professional learning communities (PLCs) (e.g. study groups, critical friends groups, and other ongoing professional development (PD) engaging teachers in discussions) have demonstrated potential for enhancing teacher knowledge and practice. Studies have begun to articulate the types of conversations that promote learning, the inherent challenges in facilitating them, and the ways design choices affect outcomes. This symposium moves a step further to discuss methodological considerations for studying conversations within PLCs over time. Four papers (one literature review and three empirical reports), situated in four PD projects, highlight methodological considerations for studying changes in conversations within PLCs. The papers, which analyze PLC conversations for various purposes, over varying time periods, and through various lenses, have implications for research on PLCs.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Section 8: Teacher Professional Development: Impact on Teacher Practices and Student Learning

Chair

• Joy Ann Oslund, University of Michigan

Papers

• Studying Changes in Teachers’ Group Conversations: A Methodological Literature Review - Joy Ann Oslund, University of Michigan; Pamela A. Moss, University of Michigan

• Concomitant Analysis in Considering Teacher Development and Professional Development Materials Over Time - Edd V. Taylor, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Using Tools From Discourse Analysis to Understand Change in a Teacher Study Group - Samuel Otten, University of Missouri - Columbia; Beth A. Herbel-Eisenmann, Michigan State University; Kate Johnson, Brigham Young University

• Studying Teachers’ Attempts at Change Through Narrative Inquiry - Lindsay Keazer, Michigan State University

Discussant

• Helen J. Featherstone, Michigan State University