Collegial Frame Processes Supporting Mathematics Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice

• In Event: Professional Development to Improve Math Education

Abstract

This paper examines secondary mathematics teachers engaging in professional development focused on the collective investigation of video cases of high-quality instructional material enactment. Employing the theoretical perspective of a community of practice (CoP) while incorporating tenets of effective professional development, we iterate on and leverage frame analysis to study teacher learning through changes in participation and reification. Our findings suggest the importance of a collegial environment: we found that teachers changed the ways they engaged in collegial conversations within the CoP while progressing toward reifying tenets of powerful mathematics classrooms. This change in participation suggests that establishing and facilitating a collegial environment in which teachers can leverage philosophical disagreements can productively support learning in a CoP.

Authors

• Helene Leonard, Montclair State University

• Victoria D Bonaccorso, Montclair State University

• Joseph DiNapoli, Montclair State University

• Eileen Murray, Math for America