Structuring Deep and Specific Conversations: The Work of Facilitators of Mathematics Teacher Professional Learning

• In Event: Reimagining Professional Learning Structures: Supporting Teacher Educators to Lead Ambitious and Equitable Mathematics Teacher Learning

Abstract

This study investigates how facilitators of mathematics teacher professional learning (PL) can structure professional learning activities to enable teachers to engage in deep and specific conversations about teaching and learning mathematics (Russell et al., 2020). This study is situated within a U.S. context where teachers often encounter changing curriculum resources and limited preparation. The study explores a PL design that positions teachers to examine the details of lessons with a strong focus on mathematics content, pedagogy, and student thinking. We argue that facilitators play a crucial role in orchestrating these conversations, especially in systems where teachers are typically trained to teach “no particular version” of their subject (Cohen, 2010).
The study focused on a lesson analysis cycle built around educative curriculum materials–materials designed to help teachers deepen their understanding of mathematics and pedagogy (Davis et al., 2017). We examined how facilitators used a structured planning routine to support teachers in analyzing lessons with considerable specificity. The lesson analysis cycle was conducted with groups of grade-alike teachers (Grades 4-5) using the Bridges in Mathematics curriculum (The Math Learning Center, 2019). It consisted of three phases: (1) collaborative planning, (2) lesson enactment (video-recorded), and (3) reflection on the enactment. The analysis focused on the first phase, in which facilitators led teachers through a structured planning routine designed to surface and examine critical aspects of the lesson.
The structured planning included studying the unit overview, engaging in the mathematics of the lesson, identifying the lesson’s learning goals, and anticipating student thinking. This structure, co-developed by the facilitators, allowed teachers to break down a lesson into thin slices and closely analyze key mathematical ideas, student reasoning, and teaching moves to support those ideas. A critical component of the structure is when the facilitation of the structure helped teachers identify the “critical moment” in a lesson — the place where students would most deeply engage with the mathematical ideas — and how to support rich student thinking at that moment.
Data for the study came from three facilitators working with groups of teachers across multiple planning sessions. Data included audio recordings, written artifacts, curriculum documents, and annotated lesson plans. Using content analysis, we identified segments of conversations that focused on mathematical content, pedagogy, and student thinking, and then coded and memoed these for analysis.
Findings suggest that the structured routine designed by the facilitators enabled teachers to learn to teach a very specific version of mathematics, countering the typical fragmentation of PL. The deep and specific conversations supported by the routine built teachers’ capacity to notice, analyze, and plan for critical instructional moments, with the potential to transfer this learning to other lessons, settings, and even subject areas. The study highlights the power of structured, curriculum-grounded PL to build teachers’ capacity for ambitious mathematics instruction (Lampert et al., 2011), and it calls for further research on how facilitators can learn to design and facilitate such structures to support equitable and meaningful learning opportunities for teachers and students alike.

Authors

• Kelly A. McKie, University of Delaware

• Lynsey K. Gibbons, University of Delaware

• James Hiebert, University of Delaware