In mathematics education, attention has recently turned to the need to ensure more equal access to mathematics among learners with different social identities (Secada, 1995).  One strand of research in this area has focused on teacher professional development (PD) that addresses the intersection of mathematics teaching and equity issues (Bartell, 2010; Foote, 2010).  In this poster, we examine one such PD effort, the ‘Radical Math Study Group,’ and analyse how teachers learned collectively through participation in the group.  The goals of this study group were to use action research to learn to teach mathematics more equitably, and to develop a community of inquiry with shared language and shared strategies for investigating equity issues. 

We draw on sociocultural theories of learning to understand the process of teacher learning.  Sociocultural theories emphasize that learning can be conceptualized as shifts in participation in a community of practice and that learning arises from relations among people in socially and culturally structured activities (Lave & Wenger, 1991).  To examine learning trajectories, we focus on teachers’discourses, which are socially and historically defined ways of thinking and valuing (Gee, 1990).  In this poster, we examine how teachers’ discourse on learners and on the teaching and learning of mathematics changed over time. 

Method:

We conducted a case study of a group of secondary mathematics teachers who participated in the year-long PD study group in 2010-11.  The group gathered monthly to plan and analyse action research projects related to issues of equity in the teachers’ classrooms.  Video data was derived from each of these monthly meetings (8 three-hour sessions from October to May) as well as four to five classroom observations of each teacher participant.  In addition, three interviews were conducted across the year for each participant.  Our analysis was conducted at the group level, setting the stage for a series of individual teacher case studies that will be conducted as the next phase of the project. 

To understand discourse change at the group level, we primarily considered public talk during the professional development meetings.  In addition, we analyzed participants’ written reflections about their action research progress, which were posted on a project wiki.  Key research questions included:

-                    How did teachers, as a group, discuss issues of equity in the classroom and how did they describe their responsibilities to the students, community, and to the school governance structures?

-                    What variability was there in teacher discourse, and how did this change over time?

Findings:

            In their discussions of what it means to teach mathematics for social justice, teachers tended to focus on equity and social justice issues as they played out in their school contexts (as opposed to a more abstract or general definition for these big ideas).  This contextualization of equity and social justice to their local school environments allowed teachers to implement and to rethink social justice-oriented mathematics teaching in their own classrooms.  For example, throughout the PD, two teachers working at a private feminist school conceptualized equity in relation to girls’ access to math.  However, they also made connections between their equity issues and the issues that other teacher participants discussed in relation to their various contexts.  Thus, the group discussed multiple ways to think about equitable teaching and was able to work with multiple conceptualizations of the term. 

            Teachers’ discourse changed from focusing on students to focusing more on types of tasks and pedagogical approaches in mathematics classrooms. As a group, many of the teachers were initially concerned with how they could motivate students to learn mathematics.  However, by the end of the year, some teachers expressed the view that specific types of tasks could support their students’ mathematics learning.  Thus, issues of motivation were no longer discussed as being purely student personality traits; rather, motivation was seen as an interaction between the student and the classroom teaching.  This is significant because when teachers describe learning problems as being caused by student traits, they are likely to adopt a deficit model of student thinking (Diversity in Mathematics Education Center for Learning and Teaching, 2007). 

            At the end of the Radical Math PD, teachers argued that learning to teach mathematics for social justice was a cycle rather than a linear process.  This was evident in several teachers’ reflections.  This shift supported teachers in taking up an ‘inquiry stance’ (Cochran-Smith, 2004) towards teaching.  In brief, an inquiry stance means that teachers are constantly revisiting and revising their teaching methods, based on information gleaned from reading widely, collaborating with colleagues, and their own classroom experiences.  Rather than viewing equitable teaching as a set of decontextualized tips and tricks, the study group community described equitable teaching as a constant, cyclic process that must always be tailored to each specific teaching context.

Discussion

The proposed poster will discuss the ways in which teachers’ discourse changed throughout their participation in a PD focused on equitable math teaching.  The results of this case study imply that teachers collectively generated discourse on learners and mathematics teaching and learning, which may have supported their implementation of more equitable mathematics teaching in their unique classroom contexts.  As the results also imply, teachers gradually recognized that the process of teaching for social justice is iterative rather than linear.  This recognition is important particularly for teaching mathematics for social justice, which is not a straightforward pedagogical task, but one that requires continuous innovation and improvement. 

References

Bartell, T.  (2010).  Using lesson study as a means to support teachers in learning to teach mathematics for social justice In M.  Foote (Ed.), Mathematics teaching and learning in K-12: Equity and professional development (pp.  181-198).  New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan

Cochran-Smith, M.  (2004).  Walking the road: Race, diversity, and social justice in teacher education.  New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Diversity in Mathematics Education Center for Learning and Teaching (2007).  Culture, race, power and mathematics education.  In F.  Lester (Ed.), Second Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning (pp.  405-433).  Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Foote, M.  (2010).  The power of one: Teachers examine their mathematics teaching practice by studying a single child In M.  Foote (Ed.), Mathematics teaching and learning in K-12: Equity and professional devleopment (pp.  41-58).  New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan

Gee, J.  (1990).  Social linguistics and literacies Bristol, England Taylor & Francis

Lave, J., & Wenger, E.  (1991).  Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation.  Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Secada, W.  (1995).  Social and critical dimensions for equity in mathematics education.  In W.  Secada, E.  Fennema & L.  Adajian (Eds.), New directions for equity in mathematics education (pp.  146-164).  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.