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

这是一项为期3.5年的发展中数学思想(DMI)小学数学教师专业发展(PD)计划的有效性研究。DMI是由教育发展中心(EDC)、SummerMath for Teachers和负责这项研究的STEM研究和开发机构TERC的工作人员开发的。DMI是一种众所周知的、商业上可用的PD计划，有大量的先前证据表明它对小学教师的数学和教学知识产生了影响。然而，还没有研究将DMI与教师课堂实践的变化或学生数学成绩的提高直接联系起来。这项研究旨在弥补这一差距。这项研究的研究问题是：1)参与发展中的数学思想(DMI)专业发展计划是否会导致改革型教学的增加？2)参与DMI是否会导致学生数学学习和成绩的提高，特别是他们解释自己的想法和证明自己答案的能力？3)改革型的专业发展计划会通过什么过程影响教学实践，从而影响学生的学习？当考察更大的专业发展背景时，DMI通过什么机制产生影响，以及在什么样的支持下，我们看到我们的结果测量结果发生了预期的变化？本研究的因变量包括a)教师用于教学的教学和数学知识；b)他们课堂实践的性质；c)学生在数学方面的学习/成就。本研究采用实验和准实验方法，与波士顿、阿灵顿、康科德和其他马萨诸塞州公立学校的大约195名小学教师和他们的学生合作。志愿者教师在有效性研究的第一年被随机分配到患有DMI的PD组，或者被分配到控制组，后者将等到研究的第二年才接受DMI PD。两组教师都将接受两个学年的跟踪调查。分析使用OLS回归、分层建模和结构方程建模，以适当地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，该框架假设了PD、教师的数学和教学知识、课堂教学实践和学生结果之间的关系。每个结构都有多种衡量标准，包括对教师实践的视频分析，以及一种新的基于视频的教师知识衡量标准。这项研究测试了DMI在一系列地区(大城市、小城市、郊区)的影响，为不同种族和经济状况的学生提供服务。它提供了迫切需要的、严格的证据来检验这一以改革为导向的专业发展计划的有效性。并直接探讨了教师对数学内容和学生思维的理解以及对学生进行感悟的丰富数学话语对数学成绩测量的促进作用这一普遍理论。这项研究的结果被传播给研究和实践者社区。该项目为约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肯定的，那么这种PD计划的更大规模的使用是可能的。

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.