TOPReturn to Main Menu
Return to Section A Menu
Reviews of the proposed framework and its supporting
materials (A)
Review by Catherine T. Fosnot
The following review was prepared by Catherine T. Fosnot (Professor of Education, City College of the City University of New York), a well-known teacher educator whose best known publications include "Enquiring Teachers, Enquiring Learners" (1989), "Reconstructing mathematics education: Stories of teachers meeting the challenge of reform" (1993), co-authored with Deborah Schifter, and an edited book "Constructivism: Theory, perspective, and practice" (1996). Professor Fosnot examined artifacts and videotapes of the in-service implementations of the framework that took place during the NSF-funded project "Supporting middle school learning disabled students in the mainstream mathematics classroom" (award #TPE-9153812), as well as a preliminary version of these materials. Professor Fosnot's review provides the perspective of an elementary teacher educator with extensive experience in designing and implementing in-service programs to promote mathematics teachers' change.
Evaluation of the professional development program:
The current reform in mathematics education calls for a movement away from teaching by explanation, practice, and feedback, towards a classroom setting which engages learners in actually doing mathematics: searching for and investigating patterns, proposing and testing conjectures, raising mathematical questions, constructing formulae, models, and algorithms, and defending and proving one's ideas in a mathematical community. Often this requires a paradigm shift for teachers, since most often they were learners in the same kind of classroom they are now asked to change.
Research shows that to accomplish this paradigm shift, teachers need to become learners themselves in a constructivist, inquiry-oriented classroom so that they can experience first hand the process of mathematical construction. The professional development program described in the Borasi & Fonzi "package" does just that and then continues to support teachers through the process of designing their own inquiries, and implementing them. The inservice program is designed with the following progression of activities: 1) teachers participate as learners in two inquires; 2) they play with a concept prior to planning a unit around it; 3) they consider how they might proceed with the planning of a unit; 4) they hear testimonials from group 1 teachers and have the opportunity to ask questions of them; 5) they prepare a preliminary inquiry plan and then receive in-class support with its implementation; 6) they plan a new unit and participate in a support team seminar. During these activities, participants are also invited to use a series of booklets and videotapes describing the activities, teacher decision making, and classroom dialogues.
I found the principles and elements in the progression of the professional development program to be clear and theoretically sound. The teachers in the videotapes [I saw] were very engaged in the construction of some mathematical "big ideas" in relation to area. They constructed their own area formulae and defended them. It was clear to me that the program's beginning summer institute met its goal of creating new images of classrooms and an understanding of an inquiry approach. Further the support system built in through the following year seemed structured and supportive and should go a long way in helping teachers actually implement an inquiry approach. The booklets describing implementation and teachers' journals clearly attest to this fact.
I particularly liked the area investigation, although I would have liked to see the context developed a bit more fully. The fish to be painted on a museum floor seemed a bit far fetched unless developed into a more real story context. Mathematically however, it was sound, and did develop into an investigation into part/ whole relations and area formulae. The investigation was then extended into the star activity. This activity also allowed learners to really feel and reflect on mathematical inquiry, a new pedagogy for most participants, I'm sure. [...]
Evaluation of the multi-media package for teacher educators:
Teacher educators can read about constructivist/inquiry oriented approaches but, until they actually see an example of it happening, it is difficult to understand fully. Because the materials provide full videotapes, supportive materials, dialogues of implementation, handouts and reading materials, and samples of teacher educators' journals, they are exemplary in supporting teacher educators to organize a similar professional development program. I found the theoretical premises of inquiry to be described and argued clearly and well. [...] what was most helpful was the way the materials could be used selectively and revisited again and again with the reader's questions in mind. [...]
My overall impression of the materials and the professional development program is that both are high quality and are an important addition to the reform movement.
| TOP |