Teacher educators: proposing new professional development models within an English further education context

At a time of increasing public and government focus on the quality of teacher education, little is known about the professional development needs of those who teach teachers in further education (FE). Yet they are crucial players. Efforts are intensifying across a significant number of countries to promote the professional development of teacher educators, but there is little support for new or experienced practitioners and no substantive professional standards regarding this role in English FE. This has an impact on the professional practice and career trajectories of teacher educators themselves. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews, an online survey and focus groups, this mixed-methods study uses a sequential exploratory design. The study captures the voices of English FE teacher educators who identified mentoring, induction and a choice of continuous professional development sessions as important strategies to improve the effectiveness of their role over time. This article will propose flexible models of professional development, following an analysis of new and experienced teacher educators’ needs in FE in England. The article recommends that new professional standards for teacher educators could be written collaboratively by practitioners, within a policy and institutional framework which supports the scholarship and research requirements of teacher educators.

The mathematics teacher's handbook.

Es un manual que proporciona consejos a los profesores para la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las matemáticas en clase. Entre estas orientaciones figuran: el desarrollo de una cultura eficaz en el aula que favorezca tanto la enseñanza como el aprendizaje y la búsqueda del equilibrio entre ellas, así como, la utilización de la evaluación como parte integrante de ambas tareas y el avance en el conocimiento de conceptos matemáticos.

International Mathematics : teacher's guide 1. 'Matemáticas internacionales : guia del profesor 1'.

Forma parte, junto con el libro de texto y el cuaderno de ejercicios, de un programa para enseñar las matemáticas en secundaria, es decir, a alumnos de once a catorce ó quince años de edad, que además, no hablan inglés en casa, pero están estudiando en esa lengua en la escuela. Este programa, con un nivel medio de inglés, sirve a los estudiantes para la preparación del curso de bachillerato internacional (IGCSE) y cursos equivalentes. Este recurso para el profesor contiene las respuestas a los ejercicios propuestos en el libro del alumno y en el cuaderno de ejercicios, también, le proporciona orientaciones para dar clases y apoyo metodológico.

International Mathematics : teacher's guide 2. 'Matemáticas internacionales : guia del profesor 2'.

Forma parte, junto con el libro de texto y el cuaderno de ejercicios, de un programa para enseñar las matemáticas en secundaria, es decir, a alumnos de once a catorce ó quince años de edad, que además, no hablan inglés en casa, pero están estudiando en esa lengua en la escuela. Este programa, con un nivel medio de inglés, sirve a los estudiantes para la preparación del curso de bachillerato internacional (IGCSE) y cursos equivalentes. Este recurso para el profesor contiene las respuestas a los ejercicios propuestos en el libro del alumno y en el cuaderno de ejercicios, también, le proporciona orientaciones para dar clases y apoyo metodológico.

Functional mathematics. Teacher material.

Recurso para el profesor con los mismos materiales que el libro del alumno, además de enlaces en línea a materiales del profesorado, para que pueda enseñar a los estudiantes a aplicar sus habilidades matemáticas en la práctica. Cada unidad contiene varias preguntas que aumentan en complejidad, y con flexibilidad para que el profesor pueda realizar las actividades.

The Mathematics teacher and curriculum change. 'El profesor de Matemáticas y el cambio de currículo'.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Cognitive processes associated with the professional development of Mathematics teacher. 'Procesos cognitivos asociados al desarrollo profesional del profesor de Matem??ticas'

Resumen basado en el de la publicaci??n

A review of research trends in mathematics teacher education. 'Una revisión de las tendencias de investigación en la formación de profesores de matemáticas'.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

The Mathematics teacher

Mode of access: Internet.

Microteaching Lesson Study: Mentor interaction structure and its relation to elementary preservice mathematics teacher knowledge development

This study investigated Microteaching Lesson Study (MLS) and three possible MLS mentor interaction structures during the debriefing sessions in relation to elementary preservice teacher development of knowledge for teaching. One hundred three elementary preservice teachers enrolled in five different sections of a mathematics methods course at a southern urban university were part of the study. This included 72 participants who completed MLS across three different mentor interaction structures as part of their course requirements and 31 elementary preservice teachers who did not complete MLS as part of their methods course and served as a comparison group for a portion of the study. A sequential mixed-methods research design was used to analyze the relationship between MLS mentor interaction structure and growth in preservice teachers' mathematics teacher knowledge. Data sources included pre and post assessments, group developed lesson plans and final reports, a feedback survey with Likert-type and open-ended questions, and transcripts of audio-recorded debriefing sessions. The pre and post assessments were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the Likert-type feedback survey questions. Group MLS lesson plans, final reports, and transcripts of debriefing sessions along with the open-ended questions from the feedback survey were coded in a three-step process as described by Miles and Huberman (1994). In alignment with findings from M. Fernandez (2005, 2010), elementary preservice teachers participating in MLS grew in content knowledge related to MLS topics taught by one another. Results from the analysis of pre and post content knowledge assessments revealed that participants grew in their understanding of the mathematics topics taught during MLS irrespective of their mentor interaction structure and when compared to the participants who did not complete MLS in their methods course. Findings from the analysis of lesson plans for growth in pedagogical content knowledge revealed the most growth in this area occurred for participants assigned to the interaction structure in which the MLS mentor participated in the first two debriefing sessions. Analysis of the transcripts of the discourse during the debriefing sessions and the feedback surveys support the finding that the elementary preservice teachers assigned to the interaction structure in which the MLS mentor participated in the first and second debriefing sessions benefited more from the MLS experience when compared to elementary preservice teachers assigned to the other two interaction structures (MLS mentor participated in only the first debriefing session and MLS mentor participated in only the last debriefing session).

An Investigation of Participants’ Perspectives About a Learning Assistant Program and Their Thinking about Becoming a Mathematics Teacher

A Learning Assistant program that recruits strong STEM undergraduates to become mathematics teachers was explored through a qualitative study. Three program participants were purposely selected and interviewed. The program reaffirmed one participant’s choice to become a teacher and clarified for one that it might be a career for him.