Professional Development of Mathematics Educators: Trends and Tasks
In this chapter the professional growth of mathematics educators — including teachers, teacher educators, and educators of teacher educators — is presented as an ongoing lifelong process. So far as teachers are concerned, it occurs in various stages and contexts, beginning with their experiences as school students, followed by formal preservice preparation towards an academic qualification and teaching certificate. It continues in formal and informal inservice settings and, sometimes, in graduate studies. [1]
Professional Development of Mathematics Teacher Educators: Growth Through Practice
In this paper we present a study conductedwithin the framework of an in-serviceprofessional development program for junior andsenior high school mathematics teachers. Thefocus of the study is the analysis of processesencountered by the staff members, as members ofa community of practice, which contributed totheir growth as teacher educators. We offer athree-layer model of growth through practice asa conceptual framework to think about becominga mathematics teacher educator, and illustratehow our suggested model can be adapted to thecomplexities and commonalities of theunderlying processes of professionaldevelopment of mathematics teacher educators. [2]
Mathematics Educators’ Knowledge and Development
This chapter focuses on mathematics educators. Generally, mathematics educators include educators who facilitate the learning of mathematics, as well as educators who facilitate the teaching of (or learning to teach) mathematics. There is much in common between the knowledge and development of mathematics teachers and that of their educators, yet there are some distinctive characteristics of teacher educators’ knowledge which are worthwhile to examine (Zaslavsky & Peled, 2007). [3]
Effectiveness of Feedback and How It Contributes to Improved Instruction and Learner Performance: A Case Study of Newly Qualified Mathematics Educators in Johannesburg West Schools in Gauteng Province
The purpose of the study is to re-emphasis the importance of feedback and show how it could be used to improve instruction and learner performance in mathematics. The study adopted action research design that resulted in the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data through observation checklists, self administered questionnaires and in-depth interviews. A sample of grade 6 newly qualified mathematics educators from Johannesburg west schools was randomly selected for the study. The data was analyzed through the thematic approach. The study established that the educators observed did not provide immediate feedback. Planning or preparation was not informed by the feedback from previous lessons. Errors that were indicators of misconceptions were not identified and corrected in their marking. [4]
Student Mathematics Interest in Ghana: The Role of Parent Interest, Gender, Basic School Attended and Fear of Basic School Mathematics Teacher
To ensure successful learning and advanced achievement, subject-specific interest is essential. While many factors and strategies may be important in building a student’s interest in mathematics, variables such as the type of basic schools attended, parents’ interest in mathematics as well as the fear of imposed on students by their basic school teachers have not be completely investigated in the Ghanaian education system. Towards this goal, the current paper addresses the effect of parent interest, the type of basic school attended, the fear imposed by basic school mathematics teacher on a student’s interest in mathematics. [5]
Reference
[1] Zaslavsky, O., Chapman, O. and Leikin, R., 2003. Professional development of mathematics educators: Trends and tasks. In Second international handbook of mathematics education (pp. 877-917). Springer, Dordrecht.
[2] Zaslavsky, O. and Leikin, R., 2004. Professional development of mathematics teacher educators: Growth through practice. Journal of mathematics teacher education, 7(1), pp.5-32.
[3] Zaslavsky, O., 2009. Mathematics educators’ knowledge and development. In The professional education and development of teachers of mathematics (pp. 105-111). Springer, Boston, MA.
[4] Farai, C., Mapaire, L. and Chindanya, A., 2018. effectiveness of feedback and how it contributes to improved instruction and learner Performance: A case study of newly qualified Mathematics Educators in Johannesburg West Schools in Gauteng Province. Journal of Education, Society and Behavioural Science, pp.1-13.
[5] Dissou Arthur, Y., Asiedu Addo, S. and Annan, J. (2015) “Student Mathematics Interest in Ghana: The Role of Parent Interest, Gender, Basic School Attended and Fear of Basic School Mathematics Teacher”, Advances in Research, 5(5), pp. 1-8. doi: 10.9734/AIR/2015/19889.
