Meaningful and effective training and professional development programs for teachers are key to the improvement of teaching practices in our schools. In this paper, the authors offer a meta‐synthesis of the literature on the role of reflection for mathematics and science teachers within the context of professional development. The authors frame this review using Desimone's core components of professional development, a research‐based framework emphasizing components tied to positive outcomes (content focus, active learning, coherence, duration, and collective participation). A synthesis of literature in this area shows that few training and professional development programs include all five components of Desimone's core conceptual framework for effective professional development linked to positive outcomes. Further, the authors find in their review that increased contact hours included in a professional development program produce an increase in frequency, duration, and depth of reflective practice for teachers.
A real-time, multidimensional, professional-development program that is connected to both practice and school culture was delivered to a group of Montessori teachers with the goal of improving teaching practices and increasing student success by exploring the potential benefits of mindfulness, structured reflective practice, and teacher-centered mentorship (i.e., clinical supervision), A case study of each participant and of the cocreated professional-development learning communities revealed that the program supported teacher growth and efficacy. Four themes emerged from participants’ experiences: the importance of mindfulness as a precursor to reflection and mentorship, the creation of communities of trust, the benefits of structure and focus, and the role of supportive accountability in improved practices. The study provides preliminary evidence for the use of multidimensional and teacher-centered professional-development programs to improve teaching practices. The research study has implications for administrators, teachers, and future research.
In order to explore the potential for math-talk learning communities (utilizing interactive discussions of mathematics principles) as a framework for preservice teacher learning, a math-talk learning community framework was adopted in a methods of teaching mathematics course for preservice early elementary teachers. A case study of the co-created math-talk learning community revealed that the use of this framework enhanced individual learning about mathematical concepts and the use of math-talk learning communities, resulted in a prioritization of sense making, engaged learners, and created a safe space for mathematical discourse. The study has implications for teacher educators and for future research.
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