Teachers’ Inquiry on Mathematics Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Teachers’ Inquiry on Mathematics Education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Pedagogy and didactics

Project Summary

One of the main insights from mathematics education research in the past 20 years or so is that the professional knowledge of mathematics teachers (PKMT) is of crucial importance to implement math teaching that goes beyond rote learning, and which engages students in higher order mathematical activity. In fact, students need to acquire mathematical knowledge which remains relevant to higher education and professional life in a time where computers take over tasks that formerly had to be done manually. Research has also improved our understanding of the complexity of PKMT, as well as the conditions and constraints for developing it. In brief, PKMT consists of delicate combinations of practical and theoretical components, and while deep knowledge of mathematical contents is needed, so is deep knowledge of how the contents can be taught and learned (didactical knowledge). Moreover, to acquire the appropriate mathematical and didactical knowledge, suitable course type activities in preservice education are necessary but they do not suffice. One of the most important issues is how to establish learning situations for teachers which involve both observations and experience from the classroom, and explicit and shared knowledge which draws on mathematical and didactical theory. This is true not only in initial teacher education, where current forms of “practicum” often fail to establish fruitful connections between theory and practice, but also when it comes to satisfying the urgent needs for professional development among experienced teachers, while keeping in mind what mathematics at the upper secondary level should enable students to learn.
The main objective of the project Teachers’ inquiry on mathematics education (TIME) is to explore how a community of math teachers working together in one school can improve their practice through joint exploration, planning and interaction between themselves and with university professors. We will explore how such a community can reach a high level of independence and sustainability in creating innovative teaching and learning materials and upgrade their PKMT.
More concretely, the idea is to adapt the well-established format of Lesson study (LS) to conditions in the participating countries. LS is a Japanese model of shared inquiry, performed by small groups of teachers with a specific goal to improve their teaching, and thereby students’ learning. In this project we propose to form 8-10 LS teams of 3-4 teachers in partner countries. The teams will work on implementation of inquiry based mathematics teaching (IBMT). While there is an abundance of research showing effectiveness of LS at the primary and lower secondary level, especially in Japan and other East Asian countries, the model is new in Europe and especially at the upper secondary level.
The project TIME will draw on results and networks established by Mathematics Education – Relevant, Interesting and Applicable (MERIA), which involved most partner institutions behind the present proposal. MERIA results show that teachers are eager to learn about IBMT, and that innovative scenarios produce inspiring lessons which motivate students and allow them to engage in higher level mathematical activity. MERIA also showed that design of such materials is an iterative process that requires expertise and time. Dissemination activities showed that teachers need such innovative materials and moreover that they often do not believe they can produce them on their own. In the long term, TIME will transform practice in partnering schools and show how to achieve sustainable teacher innovation.
The first part of the project (TIMELESS) is dedicated to establishing LS among all partners (teams of upper secondary mathematics teachers and university mathematicians serving as “knowledgeable others”). For this purpose, we will design a practical guide on LS and templates for lesson plans and practice reports (which are crucial documents of any LS). In this phase we will use MERIA modules, so that teachers feel supported by ready-made materials and can focus on implementing LS with small adjustments of lesson plans.
The second part (TIME^2) will focus on teachers taking the role of designers, as it is the usual practice of independent Lesson study. It would still be carried out in interaction with “knowledgeable others” with research expertise in didactics and mathematics. In particular, teachers will learn how to use didactical phenomenology to develop new scenarios with rich and motivating mathematical contexts. A practical guide on task design for inquiry based mathematics teaching and professional development course will be two main results produced by the project team. This material will further support teachers in designing TIME scenarios and will be used for the 2nd cycle of LS in partnering schools. During dissemination activities at the end of the project, experiences and materials will be shared to a wider public of teachers.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 282502 Eur

Project Coordinator

SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU & Country: HR

Project Partners

• XV. gimnazija
• KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET
• ZAVOD REPUBLIKE SLOVENIJE ZA SOLSTVO
• Midtsjællands Gymnasium
• UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHT
• UNIVERZA V LJUBLJANI
• Matematiklærerforeningen