Risk & Protective Factors Related to Teachers Evolving Mathematical Understandings
Primary researcher
Dr. Ann Kajander, Faculty of Education, Lakehead University and Dr. Ralph Mason, Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba
Description of proposed research
Teachers' knowledge of mathematics is an important prerequisite for their ability to teach mathematics well and thus teacher mathematics knowledge has come under increasing scrutiny. In addition, the reform movement in mathematics requires teachers to have a different kind of mathematical understanding than in the past. The term conceptual knowledge is often used to indicate a deeper level of understanding of ideas and procedures, and such knowledge is required to teach well. Many teachers who have been taught procedurally rather than conceptually find this change difficult. Thus in the framework of the CRYSTAL project, levels of conceptual knowledge and beliefs related to conceptual knowledge may be thought of as risk and protective factors for teachers.
This research aims to examine levels of mathematical knowledge of teachers, to help teachers assess where they currently are in terms of their own procedural and conceptual knowledge and values, as well as to track their progress over their own course of development. As well, the role of values and beliefs about mathematics and how it should be taught are examined. Influences on these factors will also be studied.
Research methodology
The research will involve volunteering elementary teachers at Lakehead Public Schools, our user partner of this CRYSTAL project.
An instrument called the Perceptions of Mathematics Survey has been previously developed and field tested with both pre-service and in-service teachers. This survey includes questions probing participants’ values in the learning and teaching of mathematics as well as mathematical questions. The survey is designed to give participants a visual reflection of their relative scores in areas of procedural and conceptual understanding and values. This instrument will be used to examine these risk and protective factors with in-service teachers at the grade seven to ten levels.
The current study will also include participating in selected Professional Learning Groups and individual interviews with participants. The purpose of the interviews will be to probe more deeply into responses on the survey as well as interactions in the Professional Learning Groups, hence the questions and prompts will emerge based on the survey data. The purpose of this component includes instrument validation as well as exploratory research into other risk and protective factors for teachers.
