Our Current Best Thinking About… Professional Learning <Welcome participants.> Cathy Bruce cathybruce@trentu.ca www.tmerc.ca Shelley Yearley shelley.yearley@tldsb.on.ca 1

Let’s look again… 6 green:4 yellow 6 green:10 shapes How can you name this? Part-Part (set) 6 green:10 shapes Part-Whole (set) One fifth of the total area is green SHELLEY In North America, we tend to only consider part-whole relationships and ignore part-part relationships Part-Whole (area)

Powerful Professional Learning Think about… a professional learning experience that has been particularly important in supporting improved practice for you. Make a quick note about what it was and why it was so powerful. Keep this in mind through the session SHELLEY

The Compelling Why Most reforms stop short at the classroom door; all available evidence suggests that classroom practice has changed little in the past 100 years. Lewis, Perry & Hurd, 2004 A Deeper Look at Lesson Study Educational Leadership CATHY

The Compelling Why Webster-Wright’s 2009 review of over 200 studies on PD and PL found that “professionals learn from experience and that learning is ongoing through active engagement in practice” (p. 723). However, the vast majority of educational PD programs have separated the learning opportunities from natural contexts and from practice. CATHY

Assumptions 1. Teachers need fixing up 2. Learning out of context will be translated to classroom with ease 3. Others know best what teachers need CATHY

Five Characteristics of Effective Professional Learning The following five characteristics should be considered by anyone charged with, or seeking to provide professional learning experiences for Ontario’s teachers i) Coherence ii) Attention to Adult Learning Styles iii) Goal-orientation iv) Sustainable v) Evidence-informed SHELLEY Recommendations to the Partnership Table on Teacher Professional Learning (2007)

Characteristics of Effective Professional Learning Across multiple studies, there is clear evidence that sustained, iterative, teacher-directed and collaborative models of professional learning support significant gains in teacher efficacy. Cathy Bruce…Across multiple studies, there is clear evidence that sustained, iterative, teacher-directed and collaborative models of professional learning support significant gains in teacher efficacy. Dr. Cathy Bruce, Science & Technology Education Group (2012) Bruce, Esmonde, Ross, Gookey, Beatty (2010)

EXPLORATORY ACTIVITIES Explanatory Diagram: The W Effect GOAL SETTING GOAL SETTING REFINING TEACHER LEARNING debriefing debriefing planning planning C L A S S R O O M STUDENT LEARNING CATHY W versus the M A visual model of the difference between what we are calling PD and PL EXPLORATORY ACTIVITIES PRECISION

So Let’s Analyse Math CAMPPP Consider the key characteristics of professional learning: Where is Camppp stronger? Where is Camppp weaker? Collaborative Teacher-directed Research/evidence- supported - Sustained - Classroom embedded - Goal alignment - Content rich SHELLEY Against key characteristics of PL Certainly not classroom embedded And how to overcome some of the challenges Is this really collaborative?

So Let’s Analyse Math CAMPPP Collaborative Teacher-directed Research-supported Sustained Classroom embedded Goal alignment Content rich Rate on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 not really 5 absolutely) What has Math CAMPPP done to try to overcome some of the challenges of a week-long PD experience in summer months? SHELLEY Against key characteristics of PL Certainly not classroom embedded And how to overcome some of the challenges Is this really collaborative?

Math Knowledge for Teaching Mark Hoover Thames and Deborah Lowenberg Ball PCK – knowing the most useful ways of representing and formulating the subject in order to make it comprehensible to others CCK – knowing if an answer is correct, knowledge of definitions and procedures Horizon Knowledge – ‘mathematical peripheral vision’ SHELLEY This is all the mathematical knowledge important for teaching – the knowledge that teachers need to carry out their work as teachers of mathematics (Ball, Thames & Phelps, p.4) Common Content Knowledge is the knowledge that is used in settings beyond the classrooms and includes evaluating the correctness of an answer, being able to provide definitions of concepts, and modeling procedural steps. It is the math that parents know! PCK is the blend of knowing the content contained within the curriculum (what to teach) and the knowledge of how students learn in general and of their thinking (this is evidenced in anticipating common student misconceptions) and the knowledge of the content and the impact on teaching (such as sequencing, time, which examples to use). SCK is part of what distinguishes the skills and knowledge of teachers of mathematics from others who utilize mathematics in their professional and/or personal lives. This extends beyond the knowledge we expect students to possess at the respective grade level and includes knowledge of how the mathematical concepts connect (such as the different interpretations of each of the operations – subtraction as ‘take away’ and as ‘comparison’). Teachers must not only be able to do mathematics but they also need to unpack elements of the mathematics to make it apparent to students. They need to be able to explain why in a variety of ways and to use correct and appropriate language to do so. This would include selecting a number line as a representation for students to use when learning about the meaning of fractions. Finally, Thames and Ball discuss the knowledge at the mathematical horizon. This is the knowledge of the mathematics being taught within the context of what learning has preceded it and what will come in the future. It is a deep understanding of the connections between the conceptual understanding and the procedural algorithms, the connections of operations across number systems, the general mathematical properties which will hold true in other contexts. It allows teachers to build and extend student thinking as a strong foundation for subsequent learning, perhaps without making these connections explicit to the students. SCK – knowing more math than CCK but distinct from PCK

Look back at your PL notes What aspects of Math Knowledge for Teaching were strong in your professional learning experience? SHELLEY – TAKE IT UP

Video Story from Digital Paper Think about aspects of Math Knowledge for Teaching in this example of Collaborative Action Research CATHY

Characteristics of Teacher Inquiry Relevant Collaborative Reflective Iterative Reasoned Adaptive Reciprocal (Capacity building series, 2010) Should we consider adding: Teacher directed (teacher as agent and decision maker) Activist oriented (practice implications) Any other key characteristics? (to think about) CATHY

Inquiry? Research? Or Both? The Broad Context of Education Inquiry (origins as old as humankind) Action Research (origins in social activism 1930’s) Teacher and classroom Inquiry Educational Research (since University of Chicago Laboratory School, around 1900) Collaborative Action Research (past 20 yrs) CATHY Kurt Lewen AR Capobianco, and others CAR Co-planning & co-teaching Book study/ Video study Giant bird’s nest on drugs

Examples of high quality mathematics teacher inquiry Collaborative inquiry (CILM, MYCI, GAINS) Often involves co-planning, co-teaching, debriefing, with sustained focus on ‘difficult’ mathematics with the intention of enhancing practice and understandings Examples of high quality teacher inquiry that are also research Collaborative action research (CAR-TLT, KNAER) Lesson Study (M4YC) CLIPS (design research) CATHY Individual teacher inquiry perpetuates isolation norms

Myths Of Professional Learning No budget for release time = no pd No planning needed just show up Drop in-between meeting/session activity PLC, CIL-M, Inquiry, SIPSA are all different Growing quickly is a good idea Any one with facilitation skills can support math professional learning A coach is a coach (no special training, and don’t need support themselves) SHELLEY

Collaborative Action Research SHELLEY It occurs over time (5 months for us with fractions) and is modified to align with the teachers’ needs and findings. Text from TMERC Collaborative Action Research Digital Paper (www.tmerc.ca) www.tmerc.ca

Why High Quality Math PL Is Important? Agency (empowerment, ownership and constructive urgency) Content learning (close attention to student work, listening and noticing) Sustainability (will and capacity to continue) Teacher efficacy (high efficacy leads to student increases in efficacy and achievement) CATHY

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What opportunities might you have for… slowing it down? sustaining focus on a precise content piece? building purposeful professional learning networks with researchers? supporting collaborative teacher learning? SHELLEY