International Approaches to Professional Development for Mathematics Teachers

Chapter 16: Factors Affecting the Implementation of Reforms in Secondary School Mathematics

204 Chapter 16 Factors Affecting the Implementation of Reforms in Secondary School Mathematics Naomi Chissick Background: Changes in Mathematics Teaching During my work with mathematics teachers in the past seventeen years, I have come to appreciate the intricacy of their work on the one hand and its importance and impact on the other. The research described here stems from my experience as a teacher, head of a department, supervisor, and teacher educator in secondary mathematics education in Israel. My research looked at the factors that affect teachers in relation to reforms and innovations and the hierarchy of these factors in their view. The Israeli school system is facing the challenges of reform in various ways. The Ministry of Education and Science and the Departments of Science and Mathematics Education in the universities and colleges have been working for many years to develop new teaching materials, educating new teachers and practising teachers in new teaching methods. However, these new approaches have penetrated few schools, and many teachers continue to teach the way they always have taught (Chissick, 2000). Thus, a study of the factors that affect the implementation of reforms seemed necessary. At the same time, the study can be perceived fundamentally as an enquiry into adult learning paradigms. Knowles (1990) developed a theory of adult learning, or andragogy, that differs from other forms of learning in the following aspects: • Adults are self-directed and expect to share the responsibility for decisions. Factors Affecting the Implementation of Reforms || 205 • Adults want to know why they need to learn. • Adults want professional learning to be based on experience and be relevant to their immediate needs and practice. • Adults want their professional learning to be collaborative and centred on peers. • Adults want their learning to be problem centred and not necessarily content centred. In this study, I looked at teachers’ learning as a professional development process in a social setting. A project of implementation of reforms in mathematics teaching, focusing on didactic aspects (PIRM), was examined through the eyes of the teachers involved. Project PIRM Fullan (2001) differentiates between restructuring, which can be done by authorization, and reculturing, which deals with how teachers come to question and change their beliefs and, as a consequence, their practices. He claims that reculturing is needed nowadays but that it proves to be much more difficult than anticipated (p. 34). In PIRM, a project that I developed for ORT (a network of colleges and schools for advanced technologies and sciences in Israel), with the aim of implementing reforms by creating a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and continuous professional development, we tried to promote reculturing with as little restructuring as possible. The project was designed to answer the needs of mathematics teachers in the context of reforms and changes. It was conducted at a period when the mathematical curriculum was on the national agenda and when mathematics teaching in Israel suffered severe blows. The project aims were • to develop a culture of long-lasting professional learning and growth of mathematics teachers and teams; • to encourage teachers and teams to try new concepts and methods in mathematics education; • to enhance constant reflection on teaching and assessment practices; and 206 || Professional Development of Mathematics Teachers • to create communities of teachers (from different schools) that will take part in professional discussions and share materials and experiences for the benefit of all. We tried to create a culture that will enable teachers to make lasting changes in their professional behaviour, including processes of continuous learning and growth. The core of the project was comprised of the guidance and support given to teachers to build a framework for collaboration and teamwork, to strengthen the status of the department head, and to reconsider their teaching methods. PIRM was based on • constructivism as the leading knowledge paradigm; • planning–action–reflection (Schön, 1983) in teaching and in teachers’ learning; • teamwork in the school and between schools; and • in-school support for teachers and the department head by facilitators , once a week, for three years (Chissick, 2002, p.3). It was assumed that professional development of teachers, both personal and as a team, should lead to improvements in students’ mathematical thinking, learning schemas, and achievements. The suggested instructional approach for PIRM was derived from social constructivism (Jaworski, 1996; Vygotski, 1978) and the social practice theory (SPT) of Lave and Wenger (1991). The strategy was under constant review to improve methods of implementation , find ways...