Towards a Theory of Identity and Agency in Coming to Learn Mathematics

Grootenboer, Peter; Jorgensen, Robyn

doi:10.12973/ejmste/75277

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Investigating teacher identity is difficult because of its complexity, but important because well-developed teacher identities are needed for effective teaching (Grootenboer and Zevenbergen 2007;Kelly 2006). Understanding teacher identity provides insights into why teachers make particular instructional decisions (Enyedy et al 2005;Gresalfi and Cobb 2012) and why teachers implement learning from professional development activities in different ways (Battey and Franke 2008).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an analytic lens for investigating identity as an embedder-of-numeracy

Bennison

2014

Math Ed Res J

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One of the capabilities needed for effective participation in modern society is numeracy, which is the ability to cope effectively with the mathematical demands of life. While the development of numeracy continues beyond the school years, schools nevertheless have a responsibility to provide opportunities for students to expand their numeracy expertise. In Australian schools, there is a renewed emphasis on numeracy brought about by the introduction of a new curriculum, teacher professional standards and measures of accountability. The first two of these developments provide an opportunity for teachers of all disciplines to increase their capacity to promote growth in the numeracy capabilities of their students. However, they will be unable to do this unless they see themselves as teachers of numeracy and have the capacity to embed numeracy into the subjects they teach. This theoretical paper extends existing knowledge on teacher identity by developing a conceptual framework for identity as an embedder-of-numeracy that recognises the complexity of teacher identity while at the same time is amenable to empirical studies. The framework is organised around five domains of influence (knowledge, affective, social, life history and context) and includes characteristics that evidence from the literature suggests greatly impact on this particular situated identity. Studies using this framework could inform the design of professional development to support teachers to develop an identity as an embedder-ofnumeracy. The mechanism for developing the framework described in this paper could also be used to create frameworks to investigate teachers' other situated identities.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an analytic lens for investigating identity as an embedder-of-numeracy

Bennison

2014

Math Ed Res J

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“…They need to ensure and modify the mathematical content of the data if necessary. They emphasize how to design to solve the problem by adding data or problem size to each item involved (Grootenboer & Jorgensen, 2009). Ensuring the actual state of the published information or data can help engineers provide mathematical solutions.…”

Section: Problem Handlingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Phenomenological Approach to Identify Mathematical Competency in Engineering Workplace

Sahroni¹,

Ismail

Yusof

2022

AJEE

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Engineers are responsible for solving highly complex problems and, hence, some training to solve such problems, particularly real-life issues, are necessary. The Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC), Board of Engineering of Malaysia (BEM), emphasizes the important of engineering competencies in engineering Program Learning Outcome (PLO), such as the ability to identify, formulate, analyze, and apply mathematical knowledge to engineering problems. However, it was reported that students in university face more challenges in understanding engineering mathematics as they are not taught by instructors who specialize in the respective field. Thus, this study was conducted using a phenomenological approach to identify the mathematical competencies (MC) among practicing engineers at manufacturing workplaces in PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Action) process workflow. Three respondent engineers were chosen as respondents for this study, but only one respondent reported in this study. Data was gathered through intensive interview sessions at the workplace. Data analysis technique of phenomenological reduction was primarily utilized in this study were Epoche, identify significant statement, Meaning Units, Textural Description of the Experience, Structural Descriptions of the Experience, and Textural-Structural Synthesis phenomenology. The method provides logical, systematic, and coherent design elements that lead to an essential description of the experience. The findings revealed that the MC elements frequently used at each stage of the PDCA process are thinking mathematically, problem handling, and mathematical communication. This study will inform instructors to develop mathematical competencies related to real-life problem-solving during teaching and learning in engineering activities and academic programs at their institutions.

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“…(Bernie) This data highlights the tension that exists for teachers and echoes the literature indicating that a substantial proportion of primary school teachers in Ireland report limited confidence in teaching students to reason mathematically and to use mathematical language in their teaching (Kavanagh et al 2015), perhaps reflective of the evidence suggesting that Irish primary school teachers have difficulty in following students' mathematical explanations and evaluating students' understanding (Delaney 2010). The challenges associated with this changing role for teachers in reform-based mathematics classrooms features in the literature, for example, Boaler (2003) and Grootenboer and Zevenbergen (2007) contend that mathematics teachers engage in a 'dance of agency' when encouraging students' own agency as mathematicians and thereby positioning students in the role of active knowers, instead of the traditional passive role of 'received knowers' (Belencky et al 1986). In line with this, teachers have to nudge conversations in mathematically enriching ways (Walshaw and Anthony 2008) and they 'need to learn the stepping in and out that is paramount to promoting productive discourse' (Nathan and Knuth 2003, p. 204) while ensuring the discourse is accessible to all students, knowing when to be explicit and use 'direct telling', and also refraining from 'direct telling' (Nic Mhuirí 2012), thus reflecting the complexity of implementing new approaches to teaching mathematics for teachers.…”

Section: Challenges During Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student voice and its role in creating cognitive dissonance: the neglected narrative in teacher professional development

Treacy

Leavy

2021

Professional Development in Education

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Central to criticisms of teacher professional development is an insufficient focus on its impact including minimal evidence of changes to practice coupled with inadequate emphasis on student outcomes. This year-long study of one case study school investigates the impact of a seven-month professional development initiative designed to support teachers in implementing a reform approach to mathematics teaching. Data sources include teacher interviews, lesson observations, student focus group interviews, and document reviews. Findings suggest initially impoverished mathematics experiences that later begin to show signs of enrichment. Students' insights into changing practice indicate that students want to be challenged more in mathematics and experience this challenge in inclusive learning environments where all students are valued and supported. A key finding is the effectiveness of student insights in increasing teachers' engagement with the professional development initiative and in motivating teachers' engagement in, and commitment to, the reform process. These findings highlight the complexity of the teacher change process, in particular, how cognitive dissonance plays a key role in changing practice. Central to creating this cognitive dissonance were students' insightful perspectives about learning mathematics. This research contends that student voice can provide unique context-specific insights yet is under-utilised in professional development theory and practice.

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Towards a Theory of Identity and Agency in Coming to Learn Mathematics

Cited by 21 publications

References 25 publications

Developing an analytic lens for investigating identity as an embedder-of-numeracy

Developing an analytic lens for investigating identity as an embedder-of-numeracy

Using Phenomenological Approach to Identify Mathematical Competency in Engineering Workplace

Student voice and its role in creating cognitive dissonance: the neglected narrative in teacher professional development

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