Systematic Descriptions of Mathematics Professional Development Interventions: A Synthesis Study

• In Event: 72.066 - Poster Session 16
  In Poster Session: 72.066-1 - Teacher Professional Development Poster Session

Abstract

To examine the ways in which the field has described teacher professional development (PD), we reviewed over 170 papers published between 1992 and 2010. Our synthesis study focuses on mathematics PD and addressed the following overarching research questions: What do we know about the design and conduct of mathematics PD being studied by researchers and how are these PD characterized in research reports? Our conceptual framework is organized around six elements: theory, context, goals, content, format, and activities. Our findings show that there is large variation in how PD is described in research reports, with substantial missing information about fundamental aspects of PD design. Thus, we suggest that the field of PD research needs to define reporting standards.

Authors

• Kwang Suk Yoon

• Paola Sztajn, North Carolina State University