Teacher Collaboration

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Using Collaborative Inquiry with Student
Teachersto Support Teacher Professional
DevelopmentSponsored by Teachers for a New Era
AACTE San Diego 2/26/11
Ivan Cheng icheng_at_csun.edu
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The Problem

• Algebra success rate is low in the district
• Only 6 of 828 Algebra 1 students at one high
  school scored Proficient or above in on the
  California Standards Test (CST)
• Two thirds of those who fail Algebra in 8th or
  9th grade fail to graduate on time

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The Solution

• To improve their mathematics instruction,
  teachers must be able to analyze what they and
  their students are doing and consider how those
  actions are affecting students learning.

NCTM Principles and Standards, p. 18
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The Solution

• Teachers learn well just as students do
  by studying, doing, and reflecting
  by collaborating with other teachers
  by looking closely at students and their work
  and by sharing what they see.

by collaborating with other teachers
Darling-Hammond (1999), p. 12
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Theoretical Framework

• Learning environment is needed to support
  generative change (Darling-Hammond, et al. 2009
  Ball, 2002 Swafford, et al. 1999 Chapin, 1994
  Little, 1993 Lave Wenger, 1991)
• Practical inquiry around student thinking similar
  to CGI (Carpenter, et al. 2000 Franke, et al.
  2001 Carpenter, et al., 1999)

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Theory of Change

• Traditional Model

Professional Development
Teacher Learning
Student Achievement
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Theory of Change

• Student Centered Model

Collaborative Inquiry
Student Achievement
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Theory of Change

• Student Centered Model

Collaborative Inquiry
Student Achievement
Designing Lessons
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Theory of Change

• Student Centered Model

Professional Development
Collaborative Inquiry
Student Achievement
Teacher Learning
Designing Lessons
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The Intervention

• Student Improvement Through Teacher Empowerment
  (SITTE)
• Utilize teachers classrooms as laboratories
  for daily practical inquiry
• Collaborative inquiry based on the Cognitively
  Guided Instruction (CGI) model
• The Responsive Teaching Cycle (RTC)

(SITTE)
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Responsive Teaching Cycle (RTC)

• Daily collaboration around evidence of student
  learning
• Focus on getting through to students rather than
  getting through a book

Explore Establish Experiment Examine
Student Learning
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The Study

• Participants
• 4 Cooperating Teachers
  (9 sections of Algebra
  1, almost all with past failure in math)
• 5 Student Teachers/4 Student Teachers
  (theater arts, food science,
  political science, engineering, math)

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The Study

• Research questions
• Impact on teachers decisions practice
• Impact on students performance
• Data
• Lesson activities (Hiebert et al., 2003)
• Online reflections emails
• Meeting notes

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The PACT Framework
Planning

• Four tasks Planning, Instructing, Assessing,
  Reflecting ( attention to Academic Language)
• Similar to National Board process
• Artifacts and commentaries, including video of
  teaching
• Valid and reliable assessment
  scorers calibrated

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The Planning Task

• Balanced focus Connections between procedures,
  concepts, reasoning
• Access to content Sequencing of tasks,
  structured supports for learning
• Meaningful assessments Aligned with
  opportunities to engage in mathematics rich
  problems to elicit levels of understanding

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Impact on Teachers

• Basic skills developed in context, not in
  isolation
• Multiple representations used to provide
  meaningful connections
• Critical thinking promoted through patterns and
  explorations
• Focused on teaching tools instead of teaching
  topics

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Impact on Teachers
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Impact on Teachers

• Noe wants to get an A in his Algebra 1 class. He
  has decided that the first thing he needs to do
  to get an A in his math class is to attend class
  every day. Each day that Noe comes to class he
  earns 5 points.
• 1. Answer the questions below
• If Noe comes to class for 2 days, how many points
  does he have?
• If Noe comes to class for 8 days, how many points
  does he have?
• If Noe comes to class for 12 days, how many
  points does he have?
• If Noe comes to class for 15 days, how many
  points does he have?
• If Noe comes to class for 18 days, how many
  points does he have?
• 2. Describe what you did to get your answers for
  ae.
• 3. Complete the table below
• 4. Choose a letter to represent the number of
  days that Noe attends school. Use that letter to
  write an expression that represents the
  number of points that Noe earns when he attends
  class.
• 5. Draw a graph on the back.
• 6. If Noe went to school for 132 days, how many
  points will he earn?
• 7. If Noe earned 55 points, how many days did he
  attend class?

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Impact on Students

• The installation cost and monthly monitoring
  fee of a security system are listed below for two
  companies.
• Ace Systems charges 327 for installation and
  204 per month for monitoring the system.
• Zero Entry charges 535 for installation and 188
  per month for monitoring the system.
• Write a variable expression for the total cost of
  a security system installed and monitored by Ace
  Systems. Write a variable expression for the
  total cost of a security system installed and
  monitored by Zero Entry. Define the variable.
• Mrs. Clark will sign a contract to have a
  security system installed and monitored for 12
  months. Calculate the total cost each company
  will charge for this service. Show all your
  work.
• If Mrs. Clark signs a contract to have a security
  system installed and monitored for 18 months,
  which company has a lower total cost? Provide an
  explanation or show all your work.

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Impact on Students
(District Periodic Assessment)

• Overall ( Correct) Mult. Choice ( Correct)

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Impact on Students
(District Periodic Assessment)

• Overall ( Correct) Mult. Choice (
  Correct) Constructed Resp. (4 Max.)

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Impact on Students
(CA Standards Test-Algebra)
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Impact on Students
(CA Standards Test-Algebra)
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Impact on Students
(CA Standards Test-Algebra)
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Limitations

• Teachers were not randomly selected (though the
  students were)
• The role of the facilitator was not examined
• Constructed response items were scored by the
  teachers themselves (as a team)
• Mathematics learning of teachers, MKT, and tacit
  beliefs were not assessed

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Implications

• Student teachers can gain experience enacting the
  practices that are promoted in their pre-service
  courses
• Teacher learning can occur when educational
  settings are structured to focus on student
  learning
• Pupils benefit significantly from the
  collaboration of their teachers

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Thank YouAACTE ConferenceSan Diego 2/26/11
Ivan Cheng icheng_at_csun.edu
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