Evaluating the Developing Mathematical Ideas Professional Development Program: Researching its impact on teaching and student learning

本研究是一项为期3.5年的小学数学教师专业发展（PD）计划的效果研究。DMI是由教育发展中心（EDC）、教师暑期数学（SummerMath for Teachers）和负责这项研究的STEM研究与发展机构TERC的工作人员开发的。DMI是一个众所周知的，商业上可用的PD程序，有大量的先前证据表明它对小学教师的数学和教学知识的影响。然而，目前还没有研究将DMI与教师课堂实践的改变或学生数学成绩的提高直接联系起来。本研究旨在弥补这一差距。本研究的研究问题是：1)参与发展数学思想（DMI）专业发展计划是否导致改革型教学的增加？2)参与DMI是否提高了学生的数学学习和成绩，特别是他们解释自己的想法和证明自己的答案的能力？3)以改革为导向的专业发展计划如何影响教学实践，进而影响学生的学习？DMI通过什么机制产生影响，在什么样的支持下，当更大的专业发展背景被检查时，我们看到我们的结果测量的期望变化？本研究的因变量包括：a)教师的教学与数学知识；B)课堂实践的性质；c)学生在数学方面的学习/成就。这项研究采用实验和准实验的方法，对波士顿、阿灵顿、康科德和马萨诸塞州其他公立学校的195名小学教师和他们的学生进行了调查。在疗效研究的第一年，志愿者教师被随机分配到患有DMI的PD组，或者被分配到对照组，后者将等到研究的第二年才接受DMI PD。这两组教师将被跟踪两个学年。分析使用OLS回归、分层建模和结构方程建模（视情况而定）来比较两组并跟踪随时间的变化。通过这种方式，该项目探索了一个概念框架的几个方面，假设PD、教师数学和教学知识、课堂教学实践和学生成绩之间的关系。每个结构都有多种测量方法，包括教师实践的视频分析，以及一种新的基于视频的教师知识测量。这项研究测试了DMI在一系列地区（大城市、小城市、郊区）为不同种族和经济背景的学生提供服务的影响。它为检验这种以改革为导向的专业发展项目的有效性提供了急需的、严谨的证据。它还直接探讨了一个老生常谈的理论，即教师对内容和学生思维的理解，以及他们鼓励丰富的数学话语来帮助学生建立意义，从而提高数学成绩的衡量标准。研究结果被传播到研究界和实践界。该项目为大约195名教师提供数学专业发展，以提高他们教授重要概念的能力。如果有效性的证据是积极的，那么更大规模地使用这种PD计划是可能的。

This is a 3.5-year efficacy study of the Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) elementary math teacher professional development (PD) program. DMI was developed by staff from Education Development Center (EDC), SummerMath for Teachers, and TERC, the STEM research and development institution responsible for this research. DMI is a well-known, commercially available PD program with substantial prior evidence showing its impact on elementary teachers' mathematical and pedagogical knowledge. However, no studies have yet linked DMI directly with changes in teachers' classroom practice, or with improved student outcomes in math. This study aims to remedy this gap. The research questions for the study are: 1) Does participation in the Developing Mathematical Ideas (DMI) professional development program lead to increases in reform-oriented teaching?2) Does participation in DMI lead to increases in students' mathematics learning and achievement, especially in their ability to explain their thinking and justify their answers?3) What is the process by which a reform-oriented professional development program can influence teaching practice and, thus, student learning? Through what mechanisms does DMI have impact, and with what kinds of support do we see the desired changes on our outcome measures when the larger professional development context is examined?The dependent variables for this study include a) teachers' pedagogical and mathematics knowledge for teaching; b) the nature of their classroom practice; and c) student learning/ achievement in mathematics.The study uses experimental and quasi-experimental methods, working with about 195 elementary grades teachers and their students in Boston, Arlington, Concord, and other Massachusetts public schools. Volunteer teachers are randomly assigned either to PD with DMI in the first year of the efficacy study, or to a control group that will wait until the second year of the study to receive DMI PD. Both groups of teachers will be followed through two academic years. Analyses use OLS regression, hierarchical modeling, and structural equation modeling, as appropriate, to compare the two groups and to track changes over time. In this way, the project explores several aspects of a conceptual framework hypothesizing relationships among PD, teacher mathematical and pedagogical knowledge, classroom teaching practice, and student outcomes. There are multiple measures of each construct, including video-analysis of teacher practice, and a new video-based measure of teacher knowledge.The study tests the impact of DMI in a range of districts (large urban, small urban, suburban) serving an ethnically and economically diverse mix of students. It provides much needed, rigorous evidence testing the efficacy of this reform-oriented professional development program. It also directly explores the commonplace theory that teachers' understanding of content and student thinking and their encouragement of rich mathematical discourse for student sense-making lead to improvement on measures of mathematics achievement. Findings from the study are disseminated to both research and practitioner communities. The project provides professional development in mathematics to about 195 teachers to improve their ability to teach important concepts. If the evidence for efficacy is positive, then even larger-scale use of this PD program is likely.