The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a teacher professional development program on the classroom teaching practices of the participants. This particular professional development program included an intensive summer institute, 8 monthly follow-up sessions, informal participant-professor mentoring and peer networking. The majority of participants were teachers (grades 4–8) in rural school districts. Qualitative and descriptive measures were used to assess the impact of this program in terms of participants’ science content learned, teacher self-efficacy, classroom teaching performance and an informal program survey.

Observed Implementation of a Science Professional Development Program for K-8 Classrooms

This paper examines professional development workshops focused on Connected Math, a particular curriculum utilized or being considered by the middle-school mathematics teachers involved in the study. The hope was that as teachers better understood the curriculum used in their classrooms, i.e., Connected Math, they would simultaneously deepen their own understanding of the corresponding mathematics content. By focusing on the curriculum materials and the student thought process, teachers would be better able to recognize and examine common student misunderstandings of mathematical content and develop pedagogically sound practices, thus improving their own pedagogical content knowledge. Pre- and post-mathematics content knowledge assessments indicated that engaging middle-school teachers in the curriculum materials using pedagogy that can be used with their middle-school students not only solidified teachers' familiarity with such strategies, but also contributed to their understanding of the mathematics content.

Including Curriculum Focus in Mathematics Professional Development for Middle‐School Mathematics Teachers

The Effects of Types, Quantity, and Quality of Questioning in Improving Students’ Understanding. (December 2007) Alpaslan Sahin, B.A., 9 Eylul University at Izmir, Turkey Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Gerald Kulm This research is based on the Middle School Mathematics Project (MSMP) funded by the Interagency Educational Research Initiative (IERI) through a grant to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Both teachers’ video lessons and students’ pre-and-post test scores were used to investigate the effects of teachers’ types, quality, and quantity of questioning students’ knowledge of algebra concepts and skills in variables, change, equality, and equations in middle school students in seventh and eighth grades. The study further explored the relationship between types of questioning, quality of questioning, and quantity of questioning. Later, teachers’ intention of asking two types of questions, probing and guiding, and teachers’ questioning acquisition methods were studied through face-to-face teacher interviews. This dissertation used a mixed approach utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data were collected from 33 teachers in two different states, Texas and Delaware, who participated in the IERI project either during the 2002-2003, the 20032004, or the 2004-2005 school years. A total of 103 videotapes were obtained consisting of one to five lessons for each teacher. The teachers used one of four different textbooks: MathThematics (Billstein, et al., 1999), Connected Mathematics (Lappan, et al., 1998), Mathematics: Applications and Connections Glencoe Algebra (Collins, et al., 1998), or Mathematics in Context (MiC) (Romberg, et al., 1998).

The effects of types, quantity, and quality of questioning in improving students' understanding

Over the past decade there has been a growing investment in professional development (PD) programs for K-12 mathematics teachers. Researchers and policy makers often inquire about the effect of professional development programs and whether they are having a positive impact on students’ learning, and which type of programs aid in students ’academic improvements. In view of the continued concern about the low achievement of U.S. students in mathematics there is a strong need to better understand the effect of PD on student learning and more specifically, which components of PD are more beneficial and are likely to enhance students’ math learning. This study offers evidence in an effort fill the gap in the literature by examining the relationship between professional development and student achievement. A metaanalysis methodology was used to synthesize quantitatively and aggregate the results of the prior studies that have used scientific methods and reported numerical results. The time period for the selection of studies is from 2003 to 2014. Findings in this study confirm earlier literature and offers guidance about three effective components (duration, content, and intervention modality) in professional development programs that have been found to have a positive relationship with students’ achievement. The results also highlighted the importance of content focus, sufficient duration and multiple modalities of professional development programs aiding teachers in their ability to become more effective in the classroom leading to increased students’ achievement in

A Meta-Analysis on The Impact of Professional Development Programs for K-12 Mathematics Teachers on Students' Achievement

Title of dissertation: TEACHING FOR INCLUSION: THE EFFECTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR SECONDARY GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION MATHEMATICS TEACHERS FOR INCREASING TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-EFFICACY IN GEOMETRY Kenneth Wright, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professor Peter Leone Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education The current study examined the effects of a co-teacher professional development course for increasing the knowledge and self-efficacy of special education and general education geometry teachers in an inclusion setting. The professional development course included instruction on Universal Design for Learning instructional strategies as well as similarity and congruence in geometry. The course was presented in a blended learning format and included in-person and online activities. A multiple probe design across three sets of two teachers for a total of 6 participants was used in this study to demonstrate a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The participants were six special education and general education geometry teachers from public charter schools in Washington, DC. Results of the study demonstrated that participants were able to improve their content and pedagogical content knowledge in geometry as well as their self-efficacy for teaching in an inclusion setting. Specifically, special education teachers demonstrated a greater increase in content knowledge while general education teachers demonstrated a greater increase in self-efficacy for teaching students with disabilities. The study suggests that providing professional development for co-teachers can enhance collaboration as well as increase content knowledge and teacher self-efficacy. TEACHING FOR INCLUSION: THE EFFECTS OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR SECONDARY GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATION MATHEMATICS TEACHERS FOR INCREASING TEACHER KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-EFFICACY IN GEOMETRY

Teaching For Inclusion: The Effects Of A Professional Development Course For Secondary General And Special Education Mathematics Teachers For Increasing Teacher Knowledge And Self-Efficacy In Geometry

This study is an evaluation on whether middle‐level mathematics teachers’ participation in a week‐long in‐service course on middle‐level mathematics concepts increases their understanding of this c...

Garvin Morlan

Papers

Improving Mathematics Teachers' Content Knowledge via Brief In-service: A US Case Study