Megan L. Franke

Bio: Megan L. Franke is an academic researcher from University of California, Los Angeles. The author has contributed to research in topics: Teaching method & Cognitively Guided Instruction. The author has an hindex of 33, co-authored 53 publications receiving 8635 citations.

A longitudinal study of learning to use children's thinking in mathematics instruction

Abstract: This study examined changes in the beliefs and instruction of 21 primary grade teachers over a 4-year period in which the teachers participated in a CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) teacher development program that focused on helping the teachers understand the development of children's mathematical thinking by interacting with a specific research-based model. Over the 4 years, there were fundamental changes in the beliefs and instruction of 18 teachers such that the teachers' role evolved from demonstrating procedures to helping children build on their mathematical thinking by engaging them in a variety of problem-solving situations and encouraging them to talk about their mathematical thinking. Changes in the instruction of individual teachers were directly related to changes in their students' achievement. For every teacher, class achievement in concepts and problem solving was higher at the end of the study than at the beginning. In spite of the shift in emphasis from skills to concepts and problem solving, there was no overall change in computational performance. The findings suggest that developing an understanding of children's mathematical thinking can be a productive basis for helping teachers to make the fundamental changes called for in current reform recommendations. Reforming math [teaching] ... at its heart is a problem of [teachers'] learning. [And one of the critical things they must learn is] knowledge of children and their mathematics [which] is crucial to teaching for understanding. (Ball, 1994, p. 1)

Children's Mathematics: Cognitively Guided Instruction

Abstract: how the Cognitively Guided Instruction approach can help support mathematical to children's mathematical thinking and use this as a basis for instruction In anticipation of the new edition of Children's Mathematics, Christopher Why Every Math Teacher Should Know About Cognitively Guided Instruction CGI (Cognitively Guided Instruction) Year 1 (June 22-25) Mathematics Design ECM (Extending Children's Mathematics) Year 1 (July 13-16) ECM (Extending

Thinking Mathematically: Integrating Arithmetic & Algebra in Elementary School

Abstract: En este libro, los autores muestran como las operaciones y el pensamiento algebraico pueden verse como un campo unificado al comprender como las estrategias intuitivas de los ninos se basan naturalmente en las propiedades de las operaciones y otros conceptos algebraicos. Este libro muestra como los maestros pueden reconocer y apoyar el uso de los ninos de las propiedades de las operaciones y otros conceptos algebraicos de una manera que profundiza la comprension de los estudiantes de la aritmetica y proporciona una base solida para aprender algebra. Este libro tambien muestra como los maestros pueden aumentar su propio conocimiento de las matematicas en el proceso de interactuar con sus hijos y reflexionar sobre su practica. El libro proporciona numerosos ejemplos de dialogos en el aula que indican como las propiedades de las operaciones y otras ideas algebraicas surgen en el pensamiento de los ninos y que problemas y preguntas ayudan a obtenerlas.

Capturing Teachers’ Generative Change: A Follow-Up Study of Professional Development in Mathematics

Abstract: This study documents how teachers who participated in a professional development program on understanding the development of students’ mathematical thinking continued to implement the principles of the program 4 years after it ended. Twenty-two teachers participated in follow-up interviews and classroom observations. All 22 teachers maintained some use of children’s thinking and 10 teachers continued learning in noticeable ways. The 10 teachers engaged in generative growth (a) viewed children’s thinking as central, (b)possessed detailed knowledge about children’s thinking, (c) discussed frameworks for characterizing the development of children’s mathematical thinking, (d) perceived themselves as creating and elaborating their own knowledge about children’s thinking, and (e) sought colleagues who also possessed knowledge about children’s thinking for support. The follow-up revealed insights about generative growth, sustainability of changed practice and professional development.

How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school.

Abstract: New developments in the science of learning science of learning overview mind and brain how experts differ from novices how children learn learning and transfer the learning environment curriculum, instruction and commnity effective teaching - examples in history, mathematics and science teacher learning technology to support learning conclusions from new developments in the science of learning.

What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers

Abstract: This study uses a national probability sample of 1,027 mathematics and science teachers to provide the first large-scale empirical comparison of effects of different characteristics of professional development on teachers’ learning. Results, based on ordinary least squares regression, indicate three core features of professional development activities that have significant, positive effects on teachers’ self-reported increases in knowledge and skills and changes in classroom practice: (a) focus on content knowledge; (b) opportunities for active learning; and (c) coherence with other learning activities. It is primarily through these core features that the following structural features significantly affect teacher learning: (a) the form of the activity (e.g., workshop vs. study group); (b) collective participation of teachers from the same school, grade, or subject; and (c) the duration of the activity.

Content Knowledge for Teaching: What Makes It Special?

Abstract: This article reports the authors' efforts to develop a practice-based theory of content knowledge for teaching built on Shulman's (1986) notion of pedagogical content knowledge. As the concept of p...

Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain

Abstract: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools. This article maps the terrain of research on this important topic. It first provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning. It then suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.

Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics

Abstract: Adding It Up explores how students in pre-K through 8th grade learn mathematics and recommends how teaching, curricula, and teacher education should change to improve mathematics learning during these critical years. The committee identifies five interdependent components of mathematical proficiency and describes how students develop this proficiency. With examples and illustrations, the book presents a portrait of mathematics learning: * Research findings on what children know about numbers by the time they arrive in pre-K and the implications for mathematics instruction. * Details on the processes by which students acquire mathematical proficiency with whole numbers, rational numbers, and integers, as well as beginning algebra, geometry, measurement, and probability and statistics. The committee discusses what is known from research about teaching for mathematics proficiency, focusing on the interactions between teachers and students around educational materials and how teachers develop proficiency in teaching mathematics.