Building Mathematics Professional Development With an Explicit Attention to Concepts and Student Opportunities to Struggle Framework

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Gwyneth Hughes Boise State University, Idaho

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Michele B. Carney Boise State University, Idaho

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Joe Champion Boise State University, Idaho

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Lindsey Yundt Boise State University, Idaho

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Two broad categories of instructional practices, (a) explicitly attending to concepts and (b) fostering students’ opportunities to struggle, have been consistently linked to improving students’ mathematical learning and achievement. In this article, we describe an effort to build these practices into a framework that is useful for a diverse set of professional development (PD) offerings. We describe three examples of how the framework is used to support teacher learning and classroom instructional practice: a state-mandated course, lesson studies, and a large-scale teacher–researcher alliance. Initial findings suggest that consistently emphasizing this framework provides both content and structural guidance during PD development and gives coherence and focus to teachers’ PD experiences.

Footnotes

Authors Note: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1907840. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. In addition, the work was partially supported by grants from the Idaho State Department of Education. Any opinions expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of the Idaho State Department of Education.

This article was edited by Kate Johnson, associate editor of MTE, due to conflict of interest with Michael Steele, editor-in-chief. Michael Steele was not involved in the review or decision process for this article.

Contributor Notes

Gwyneth Hughes, Boise State University, ID 83725; gwynethhughes@boisestate.edu

Michele B. Carney, Boise State University, ID 83725; michelecarney@boisestate.edu

Joe Champion, Boise State University, ID 83725; joechampion@boisestate.edu

Lindsey Yundt, Boise State University, ID 83725; lindseyyundt@boisestate.edu

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