Facilitating Mathematics Teacher Identity Development Through Holistic Personalized Coaching

• In Event: Teacher Identity Development: Expanding Conceptualizations to Account for Changing and Challenging Contexts

Abstract

For teachers of mathematics, teacher identity influences the learning opportunities they create for students as well as their own experiences in their roles (e.g., efficacy, beliefs, and emotions) (Beijaard et al., 2004). As such, having a robust mathematics teacher identity is crucial for teachers to design and enact instruction in ways that support students in sense-making and problem-solving. However, developing an identity as a math teacher is often challenging for US elementary teachers who tend to identify as generalists, but not necessarily as mathematics teachers (Author et al., 2018a; Wilkins, 2009). Specifically, they may not integrate, or may superficially enact, practices that are central to effective mathematics instruction, such as supporting students in conjecturing, problem solving, and productive struggle (NCTM, 2014; Spillane, 2000). Typical professional development (PD) designed to foster these practices focuses on developing mathematical knowledge for teaching and pedagogical skills (Garret et al., 2001), but has shown mixed results (Garet et al., 2008; Garet et al., 2011). Thus, it is important to support elementary teachers in developing a mathematics identity that facilitates problem-solving-oriented practices. The study we describe in this paper aims to explore how an elementary teacher’s participation in professional development, specifically holistic personalized coaching (HPC), supported her identity development.
We foreground the case of Keva, a first-grade teacher with 17 years of experience in schools that primarily served students of color. She was participating in a two-year PD initiative aimed at improving mathematics instruction, which included the implementation of HPC during year two. HPC is a 6-step coaching approach grounded in the assumption that teachers’ instructional practices are not solely influenced by knowledge, but also by their professional identity, and related psycho-social-emotional attributes, including beliefs, emotions, and efficacy. We conducted thematic analysis of transcripts from two semi-structured interviews—one before and one after five HPC cycles—as well as five conversations held during each coaching cycle. Findings illustrated Keva’s multi-faceted, mathematics-related teacher identity development and how this supported her in identifying as a problem-solving-oriented math teacher. We foreground one dimension of her mathematics-related teacher identity: Keva’s description of herself as a “conformer,” referring to her tendency to follow the district-mandated pacing guide and her grade-level team’s recommendations over her own knowledge about mathematics and students’ capabilities. Over five coaching cycles, we observed an ebb and flow in her willingness, as well as her agentic actions, to deviate from the district and grade-level team expectations. These shifts appeared to be connected to growing efficacy in her mathematics instruction and her desire to be an advocate for her students’ academic empowerment. Findings suggest that HPC goes beyond efforts to attend to teacher identity as an outcome of PD and ultimately results in psychological and affective shifts that support effective teaching practices. This suggests the value of identity-centered mathematics PD as a pathway for supporting teachers’ development and wellbeing alongside students’ mathematics outcomes.

Authors

• Dionne Cross Francis, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Kathryn Habib, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Pavneet Kaur Bharaj, California State University - Long Beach

• Boran Yu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Anina Mahmud, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Brit’ny Pinkney, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Ji Y. Hong, University of Arizona