| 1. |
- Bergwall, Andreas, 1972-
(författare)
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Proof-related reasoning in upper secondary mathematics textbooks : Characteristics, comparisons, and conceptualizations
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Proofs and proving are difficult to learn and difficult to teach. A common problem is that many students use specific examples as evidence for general statements. Difficulties with proofs are also part of the transition problems that exist between secondary and tertiary schooling in mathematics. As mathematics teaching often follows a textbook, the design of textbooks has been pointed out as one possible cause of the problems, and international textbook research suggests that proofs often have only a marginal place in textbooks.This thesis focuses on proofs and proving in upper secondary mathematics textbooks. It also addresses theoretical and methodological questions about what marks an opportunity to develop proving competence, and which properties of such opportunities are relevant to investigate and characterize. The thesis is based on data from four Swedish and Finnish textbook series for upper secondary school, and focuses on sections on logarithms, primitive functions, definite integrals, and combinatorics. It examines how addressed mathematical principles are justified, and whether the textbooks’ exercises offer opportunities to develop proof-related skills such as formulating and investigating hypotheses, developing and evaluating arguments, identifying and correcting errors, and finding counterexamples.The results show that just over half of the mathematical principles addressed in the analyzed textbook material are justified, and that only half of the justifications are general proofs. Few exercises are proof-related (10%), and those that include reasoning about general cases even fewer. General proofs are more common in the Finnish books, but proof-related tasks are more common and of a more varied nature in the Swedish ones. The most common form of proofs are direct derivations of calculation formulas, while reasoning about existence and uniqueness is unusual, as are contrapositive proofs and proofs by contradiction.Based on the results, explicit suggestions are offered as to what teaching can pay more attention to. For the analysis and design of proof-related activities, a framework consisting of four main categories is proposed: develop a statement, investigate a statement, develop an argument, and investigate an argument. Several properties that such activities may have, regardless of which category they belong to, are discussed. Finally, three areas for future research are suggested: how worked examples can support students’ learning of proof, how textbooks can be designed to stimulate formulation as well as the formal proving of hypotheses, and mapping of differences regarding proof between upper secondary and university textbooks.
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| 2. |
- Knutsson, Malin, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
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School-based mathematics teacher education in Sweden and Finland : characterizing mentor – prospective teacher discourse
- 2013
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Ingår i: The Eighth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education. Feb 6th - Feb 10th, 2013. - Antalya, Turkey. - 9789754293159
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite many similarities between the neighbouring countries Sweden and Finland, prior studies indicate that conceptualizations and discourses about school-based teacher education are very different. In this paper we add to this picture of differences, and contribute to the research discourse about school-based teacher education, by identifying and characterizing aspects of mathematics teaching made relevant in review meetings between mentors and prospective primary teachers. While the Swedish discourse typically focuses on the students’ individual work with textbooks, connections to everyday experiences and teaching as individual supervision, the Finnish discourse emphasizes lesson aims, learning and progression in mathematics through formative assessment and differentiation according to pupils’ abilities
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| 3. |
- Ryve, Andreas, et al.
(författare)
-
Kartläggning av forskning om formativ bedömning, klassrumsundervisning och läromedel i matematik : Delrapport från skolforsk-projektet
- 2015
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The current project focuses on mathematics education, and is partitioned into three subprojects mapping research on formative assessment, classroom teaching, and curriculum programs in mathematics. The rationale for focusing on these three areas is that they are all highly relevant for understanding and improving Swedish mathematics education and students’ knowing of mathematics. Therefore, the aim of the project is to map research on formative assessment, classroom teaching, and curriculum programs in mathematics education.The methodology of the literature review has been inspired by Gough, Oliver, and Thomas (2013), and we have focused on the mapping on journal articles published on Web of Science (WoS).The results from the sample of articles on formative assessment show that strategies of formative assessment in mathematics are positively correlated to students’ performance in mathematics with medium and large effect sizes. However, based on the current mapping it is difficult to specify aspects of how the formative strategies are to be implemented in order to promote students’ knowing of mathematics.Despite the change in perspective of what constitutes knowledge in mathematics to also include reasoning, problem-solving and communication, the map shows that research is mainly focused on examining teaching methods and their effects on students’ skills in mathematics. A closer examination of the studies that do focus on teaching for supporting students in developing competencies like reasoning and problem-solving shows that connections between and comparison of students’ solutions, as well as teachers’ ways of asking questions to support students in explaining their solutions clearly and in detail, are important for students’ learning of these competencies.A central finding stemming from this review of curriculum programs is the complexity involved in how the programs can support teachers in establishing classroom practices. Curriculum resources and teacher resources, as well as other influencing factors, impact the quality of instruction, and studies have begun to point out how curriculum resources and teacher resources uniquely and jointly impact classroom practices. Multiple research articles have expressed the need for teacher support in implementing curriculum programs, by means of professional development, teacher education and support provided by the curriculum programs themselves. Interesting in this regard is the state of the research field concerning the design of educative curriculum programs, and how teachers make use of such support. Studies have proposed design approaches, regarding both the actual development of educative curriculum programs as well as how to use them in teacher education to support prospective teachers’ development of knowledge. Further, although research has revealed that it is important to prepare for teaching in certain ways, we found very little research that explicitly analyzed how teachers actually prepare for teaching a mathematics lesson.Limitations of the project include: (1) the lack of searching in potentially relevant databases, (2) the fact that a relatively small proportion of articles found in the search have been coded, (3) that we have not engaged in deep considerations as to whether and in what ways results from international research are relevant in the Swedish context, and (4) that we therefore have not been able to synthesize the results of the study. In relation to the Swedish context (Hemmi & Ryve, 2014; Boesen et al., 2014), international research (Hattie, 2009; Smith & Stein, 2011), and the current project’s findings, we recommend that Skolforskningsinstitutet focus on two aspects of great importance for developing students’ knowing of mathematics. First, Skolforskningsinstitutet should synthesize research that supports actors, such as teachers and principals, in acting within school practices. In the case of teachers, support is needed to engage them in actively anticipating students’ thinking, using curriculum programs effectively, introducing mathematical content, acting in group work, formatively assessing students’ learning, and orchestrating whole-class mathematical discussions. Secondly, actors within school practices need support not only in initiating and implementing developments but also in institutionalizing such developments. Skolforskningsinstitutet should specify the kind of support needed in order to ensure that material, routines, competences, and organizations become integral and permanent features of Swedish school practice.
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| 4. |
- Ahl, Linda, 1970-
(författare)
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Approaching Curriculum Resources : Examining the potential of textbooks and teacher guides to support mathematics learning and teaching
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The driving forces of conducting the two studies presented in this thesis are: the strong position of curriculum resources in the mathematics classroom in general; teachers’ faith in curriculum resources to convey the intentions and goals of mathematics education; and the expected benefits to mathematics education through expanding the knowledge base of research in the area of curriculum resources in general, and teacher guides in particular. This thesis builds upon two studies conducted in Sweden. The first is a study on how teachers use teacher guides. The results of this study could be seen as one piece in the building of a theoretical understanding of how teachers use their tools in planning and enacting teaching. The data for Study I were collected through semi-structured interviews with five early-years mathematics teachers. In advance, the teachers were asked to copy the pages from the teacher guide they had used the week before the interview. The analysis of the interviews shows that less experienced teachers desire a wider scope of content in their teacher guide. More experienced teachers desire support from teaching activities, in the design of teaching in classroom practice. Another interesting result was that all teachers in our study, regardless of prior experience, knowledge, beliefs, etc., want the teacher guide to offer connections between theory and practice. The second study investigates what content is represented in Swedish textbooks. The results of this study map the terrain over how the most commonly used textbooks in Sweden construct the topic of proportion and proportional reasoning. My choice of textbooks is based on a questionnaire among all compulsory school mathematics teachers in the sixth largest municipality in Sweden, revealing that two curriculum resources together covered 97% of the classrooms in Grades 7-9. The study provides insights into the strengths and weaknesses in the presented structure regarding proportional reasoning in the most commonly used textbooks in Swedish lower secondary school. Teachers could use these insights when making decisions about how to use their textbooks, and to possibly reconsider how to organize the enactment of the national curriculum in order to develop deep understanding. The analyses could provide authors of teacher guides and textbooks with valuable information to consider regarding structure and design.
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| 5. |
- Andrews, Paul, 1954-, et al.
(författare)
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PISA, TIMSS and Finnish mathematics teaching : an enigma in search of an explanation
- 2014
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Ingår i: Educational Studies in Mathematics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0013-1954 .- 1573-0816. ; 87:1, s. 7-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Finnish students’ success on all three content domains of each of the four cycles ofthe OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has created muchinternational interest. It has also prompted Finnish academics to offer systemic explanationstypically linked to the structural qualities of Finnish schooling and teacher education. Lesswell-known has been the modest mathematics performance of Finnish grade 8 students on thetwo Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in which Finland hasparticipated, which, when compared with its PISA successes, has created something of anenigma. In this paper, we attempt to shed light on this enigma through analyses of Finnishmathematics classroom practice that draw on two extant data sets—interviews with Finnishteacher educators and video-recordings of sequences of lessons taught on standard topics. Dueto the international interest in Finnish PISA success, the analyses focus primarily on theresonance between classroom practice and the mathematical literacy component of the PISAassessment framework. The analyses indicate that Finnish mathematics didactics are morelikely to explain the modest TIMSS achievements than PISA successes and allude to severalfactors thought to be unique to the Finns, which, unrelated to mathematics teaching practices,may be contributory to the repeated Finnish PISA successes. Some implications for policyborrowingare discussed.
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| 6. |
- Blomberg, Per
(författare)
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Informell Statistisk Inferens i modelleringssituationer : En studie om utveckling av ett ramverk för att analysera hur elever uttrycker inferenser
- 2015
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med ökad kunskap om lärande och undervisning i informell statistisk inferens. I studien användes en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi inriktad mot prövning och generering av teorier med inspiration av grounded theory. Studiens kunskapsfokus är riktad mot karakterisering av statistiska processer och begrepp där system av begreppsramverk om informell statistisk inferens och modellering utgör en central del av forskningen. För att erhålla adekvat empiri utformades en undervisningssituation där elever engagerades med att planera och genomföra en undersökning. Studien genomfördes i en normal klassrumssituation där undervisningen inriktades mot ett område inom sannolikhet och statistisk där bland annat lådagram och normalfördelning med tillhörande begrepp introduceras. Det empiriska materialet samlades in genom videoinspelning och skriftliga redovisningar. Materialet analyserades genom ett sammansatt ramverk om informell statistisk inferens och modellering. Resultatet av analysen visar exempel på hur elever kan förväntas uttrycka aspekter av informella statistisk inferens då de genomför statistiska undersökningar. Vidare utvecklades ett ramverk som teoretiskt beskriver informell statistisk inferens i modelleringssituationer. Studien pekar på att ISI-modellering har potential att användas för att analysera hur informell statistisk inferens kan komma till uttryck och att identifiera potentiella inlärningsmöjligheter för studenter att utveckla sin förmåga att uttrycka informella statistisk slutledning och att identifiera potentiella inlärningsmöjligheter för elever att utveckla sin förmåga att uttrycka informella inferenser.
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| 7. |
- Brehmer, Daniel, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Catalysts for mathematics teachers’ learning from professional development programmes : a review of 64 journal articles in mathematics education
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In their review, Goldsmith, Doerr and Lewis (2014) note that research on professional development programmes (PDPs) for mathematics teachers mostly concerns whether a programme has affected the teachers’ practice or student learning, while the teachers’ learning is treated as a black box. In light of this, they call for a ‘… shared body of knowledge about the nature of teachers’ learning and the catalysts that support it’ (p. 25). In this article, we examine and map 64 articles from mathematics education journals with respect to prerequisites for learning. From this mapping, we identify and describe catalysts for teacher learning from PDPs for mathematics teachers. These learning catalysts are then used to characterize two different types PDPs, based on which learning catalysts are used in them. Typical of PDPs targeting increased teacher knowledge is that they: emphasize knowledge of content and teaching and knowledge of content and students; manage this content through cooperation; and promote insight and/or body of knowledge as catalysts for learning. Typical of PDPs targeting changed instruction is that they: emphasize knowledge of content and teaching as well as following strategies by doing/experimenting when establishing it in the classroom as a catalyst for learning. Conclusions and implications are discussed.
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| 8. |
- Brehmer, Daniel, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
-
Facilities for Mathematics Teachers’ Learning from Professional Development Programmes : A Qualitative Systematic Review
- 2024
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Ingår i: Mathematics Teacher Education and Development. - 1442-3901. ; 26:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is indicated that research on professional development programmes (PDPs) for mathematics teachers mostly concerns whether a programme affects the teachers’ practice or student learning, while the teachers’ learning is treated as a black box. Calls have been made for a shared body of knowledge on teachers’ professional learning and what supports such learning. In this article, 84 articles from mathematics education journals are examined with respect to facilities and catalysts for teacher learning from PDPs for mathematics teachers. Two main types of PDPs were identified—those that target teacher knowledge growth and those that target changed instruction—and it was determined that the types of facilities for catalysing learning linked to them differ. Typical of PDPs targeting teacher knowledge growth is that they emphasise knowledge of content and teaching, knowledge of content and students and specialised content knowledge; following insight and/or body of knowledge as facilities for catalysing the learning. Typical of PDPs targeting changed instruction is that they use more time and have a larger time span than PDPs targeting teacher knowledge growth, emphasise knowledge of content and teaching; and follow strategies by doing/experimenting when establishing them in the classroom as facilities for catalysing the learning.
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| 9. |
- Brehmer, Daniel, 1973-
(författare)
-
Problem solving in mathematics textbooks
- 2015
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this study is to analyse how mathematical problem solving (MPS) is represented in mathematical textbooks for Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis comprises dominating Swedish textbook series, and relates to uncovering a) the quantity of tasks that are actually mathematical problems (MPs), b) their location in the chapter, c) their difficulty level, and d) their context. Based on an analysis of 5,722 tasks from the area of calculus, it is concluded that the textbooks themselves contain very few tasks that can be defined as MPs, and that those that are MPs are found at the end of a chapter at the most difficult level, and are presented in a pure mathematical context. Implications are discussed.
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| 10. |
- Brehmer, Daniel, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
-
Problem solving in Swedish mathematics textbooks for upper secondary school
- 2016
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0031-3831 .- 1470-1170. ; 60:6, s. 577-593
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study is to analyse how mathematical problem solving is represented in mathematical textbooks for Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis comprises dominating Swedish textbook series, and relates to uncovering (a) the quantity of tasks that are actually mathematical problems, (b) their location in the chapter, (c) their difficulty level, and (d) their context. Based on an analysis of 5,722 tasks from the area of calculus, it is concluded that the textbooks themselves contain very few tasks that can be defined as mathematical problems, and that those that are mathematical problems are found at the end of a chapter at the most difficult level, and are presented in a pure mathematical context. Implications are discussed.
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| 11. |
- Brehmer, Daniel, 1973-
(författare)
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Support for mathematics teachers’ change : Examining catalysts for teacher learning and role of the teacher in professional development programmes
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- When the perception changes regarding what mathematics students should be able to manage, this is typically addressed through a new national curriculum. To establish and implement this new curriculum in practice, teachers must be given the opportunity to change according to it. For such change, they need support in interpreting and implementing the new curriculum. Typically, there are two common ways to support teacher change: (1) developing and launching curriculum materials that correspond to the national curriculum; and (2) implementing professional development programmes (PDPs) that correspond to the new national curriculum. This thesis includes both aspects and aims to contribute to research on support for mathematics teachers’ change. This aim is operationalized by: (1) studying mathematics textbooks in which tasks and plausible teaching intentions are analysed; (2) studying teacher agency in collegial discussions in relation to the design of a PDP; and (3) mapping and describing catalysts for teacher learning from PDPs in research literature. These studies resulted in five papers, which are included in this thesis. The main results of the papers cover: the distribution of types of tasks in Swedish mathematics textbooks; the type of learning approach advocated in these textbooks; how different types of texts in PDPs relate to teacher agency in collegial discussions; and an identification and description of catalysts for teacher learning from PDPs for mathematics teachers. In the kappa1 of this thesis, these results are merged and discussed in relation to different models of teacher change. The focus in the kappa is on examining catalysts for teacher learning from such initiatives and the role of the teacher in PDPs. This examination suggests elaborations on parts of a conceptual framework for effective PDPs (Desimone, 2009). More precisely, the elaborations concern core critical features for effective PDPs, presented in this framework: Content Focus, Active Learning, Collective Participation, Duration, and Coherence. The main contributions of this thesis concern: a tool for analysing tasks in textbooks with respect to problem-solving tasks; an organizing frame for mapping learning catalysts from articles describing PDPs; a description of catalysts for teacher learning from PDPs as specifications of core critical features for effective PDPs; and the role of the teacher in PDPs as a catalyst for learning. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.___________________________1The Swedish term kappa will be used in this thesis in the absence of an equivalent English term for the introductory chapters of an aggregation dissertation
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| 12. |
- Brehmer, Daniel, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Towards an organizing frame for mapping teachers' learning in professional development
- 2018
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Ingår i: Nordic Research in Mathematics Education. - Göteborg. - 9789198402414 ; , s. 229-237
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In their claim that teachers’ learning is treated as a “black box” in research onprofessional development programs for mathematics teachers, Goldsmith, Doerr,& Lewis (2014) call for “an organizing framework that clearly distinguishesdimensions of teachers’ learning and identifies catalysts of teachers’ learning…”(p. 23). The aim of this study is to present initial efforts to construct a frameworkfor categorizing descriptions of activities designed to support teachers’ learningas presented in research articles within mathematics education. Based on existingliterature on professional development and examination of research articles, anorganizing frame is constructed.
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| 13. |
- Dahlén, Ewa
(författare)
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Rektorn och den dubbla styrningen : en studie om gymnasierektors uppdrag i styrkedjan
- 2023
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In a global education policy context, school leadership has grown in importance in relation to improving school outcomes as well as equity in education. At the same time, during the last decades, the Swedish school system has undergone several large-scale national education reforms. Reforms that have changed the relations between the different levels in the decentralised Swedish school system and at the same time created debates about the purpose and goals of the school system. These debates are based in different perspectives and shaped by various school discourses. The result discourse connected to the perspective of marketization and the democratic discourse connected to the perspective of social inclusion and equality. These are two central discourses who proclaim different views on how challenges within the school system should best be solved. The purpose of this study is to contribute to knowledge about the mission and responsibilities of principals in upper secondary schools in the Swedish school system. The study takes its point of departure in observations of follow-up meetings between principals within upper secondary schools and the local education authority (LEA). This study has three theoretical contributions. The first contribution concerns knowledge of the principal’s mission, assignment, and work tasks. The second contribution is knowledge of how the result discourse and the democratic discourse are used in conversations about the principal’s mission, assignment, and work tasks. The third contribution is knowledge of the interaction between the principal and the LEA, different levels in the decentralised Swedish school system, in the context of follow-up meetings. The results show that LEAs describe the principal’s mission in three parts – economy, administration, and pedagogy. The two discourses are used in all three of the missions where they sometimes collide, creating a discursive conflict and sometimes co-exist without conflict. The results also show that the LEA and principals often have a common view of the purpose and goal of the school system, but there is seldom a common strategy for how these goals are to be achieved. This study contributes to an understanding how LEAs and political governance shape the role of the principals, but more studies are needed.
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| 14. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, et al.
(författare)
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Cultural Variation in the Effectiveness of Feedback on Students' Mistakes
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- One of the many things teachers do is to give feedback on their students' work. Feedback pointing out mistakes may be a key to learning, but it may also backfire. We hypothesized that feedback based on students' mistakes may have more positive effects in cultures where teachers have greater authority over students, which we assume to be cultures that are high on power distance and religiosity. To test this hypothesis we analyzed data from 49 countries taking part in the 2015 wave of the TIMSS assessment, in which students in the 4th and 8th grades were asked whether their teachers in mathematics and science told them how to do better when they had made a mistake. For each country we could then estimate the association between the reported use of mistake-based feedback and student achievement. Consistent with our hypothesis, the estimated effect of mistake-based feedback was positive only in certain countries, and these countries tended to be high on power distance and religiosity. These results highlight the importance of cultural values in educational practice.
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| 15. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Higher-achieving children are better at estimating the number of books at home: Evidence and implications
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 13
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The number of books at home is commonly used as a proxy for socioeconomic status in educational studies. While both parents' and students' reports of the number of books at home are relatively strong predictors of student achievement, they often disagree with each other. When interpreting findings of analyses that measure socioeconomic status using books at home, it is important to understand how findings may be biased by the imperfect reliability of the data. For example, it was recently suggested that especially low-achieving students tend to underestimate the number of books at home, so that use of such data would lead researchers to overestimate the association between books at home and achievement. Here we take a closer look at how students' and parents' reports of the number of books at home relate to literacy among fourth grade students, by analyzing data from more than 250,000 students in 47 countries participating in 2011 PIRLS. Contrary to prior claims, we find more downward bias in estimates of books at home among high-achieving students than among low-achieving students, but unsystematic errors appear to be larger among low-achieving students. This holds within almost every country. It also holds between countries, that is, errors in estimates of books at home are larger in low-achieving countries. This has implications for studies of the association between books at home and achievement: the strength of the association will generally be underestimated, and this problem is exacerbated in low-achieving countries and among low-achieving students.
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| 16. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Socioeconomic Status as a Multidimensional Predictor of Student Achievement in 77 Societies
- 2021
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Education. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2504-284X. ; 6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We reassess the relation between students' socioeconomic status (SES) and their achievement by treating SES as multidimensional instead of unidimensional. We use data from almost 600,000 students in 77 countries participating in the 2018 PISA assessment of student achievement in math, science, and reading. The composite measure of SES that PISA uses can be broken down into six component variables that we here use as simultaneous predictors of achievement. This analysis yields several new insights. First, in the typical society, two predictors (books at home and parents' highest occupational status) clearly outperform the rest. Second, a new composite measure based only on these two components often reveals substantially larger achievement gaps than those reported by PISA. Third, the analysis revealed remarkable differences between societies in the relation between achievement and wealth possessions. In most societies, the independent effect of wealth possessions on student achievement was zero or even slightly negative-but in the least developed societies it was strongly positive. These findings have implications for how SES achievement gaps should be measured and interpreted.
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| 17. |
- Eriksson, Kimmo, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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Using TIMSS items to evaluate the effectiveness of different instructional practices
- 2019
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Ingår i: Instructional Science. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0020-4277 .- 1573-1952. ; 47:1, s. 1-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Can instructional quality be measured using TIMSS items on how often certain instructional practices are used in the mathematics classroom? We focused on three instructional practices that have been the topics of longstanding debates in the educational literature: memorizing formulas, listening to the teacher, and relating mathematics to daily life. In a multi-level multiple regression analysis, we examined how class-level responses to these items predicted mathematics achievement. In Sweden, across four waves of TIMSS, relating to daily life was a negative predictor of achievement, whereas memorizing formulas and listening to the teacher were positive predictors. This was also the typical pattern of results across all countries participating in two waves of the international TIMSS. Our findings are in line with certain positions on the abovementioned debates. Although conclusions are limited by the correlational nature of the data, we argue that TIMSS is a promising tool for evaluating the effectiveness of different instructional practices. We also suggest several improvements.
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| 18. |
- Erixon, Eva-Lena, 1968-
(författare)
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Matematiklärares kompetensutveckling online : policy, diskurs och meningsskapande
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Different forms of professional development online are becoming increasingly common for teachers and the aim of the thesis is to contribute knowledge about online professional development for mathematics teachers and the relationship between professional development, educational policy, and mathematics teaching practice. In the thesis, professional development refers to organized professional development in terms of university courses.The thesis consists of four studies, each of which has been presented in the form of an article. The four studies together explore transnational and national policy discourses, meaning-making activities that can be distinguished in online professional development, discourses pertaining to mathematics teaching in the classroom and in the subsequent seminar discussions in the course, and teachers’ experience of professional development online. The different arenas have been explored using the concept of discourse with reference to Fairclough, Gee, and Sfard. The term ”discourse” refers primarily to communication and language in use.The result of the studies indicates that the participants have not been offered enough opportunities to reflect on how or whether the use of several concepts and everyday life connections really deepened the students’ understanding of the mathematical content. Moreover, the analysis of the interviews with the participants shows that it was difficult for them to deepen their reflections in the synchronous communication online. There is a lack of reciprocal participation and reflection in the conversation and it is hard for the participants to get an idea of how the others respond to their messages. When a participant has completed his or her message the next speaker continues with a new message and as a result, the communication often takes a new direction instead of allowing in-depth reflection.
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| 19. |
- Gustafsson, Patrik, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
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Developing design principles and task types for classroom response system tasks in mathematics
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0020-739X .- 1464-5211. ; 53:11, s. 3044-3065
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article reports on results from a design research project that implements a formative assessment practice with support from a classroom response system (CRS). Cumulatively building on earlier research and drawing on iteratively generated data from secondary schools in Sweden, the article elaborates on design principles and task types for constructing CRS tasks aimed at generating mathematical classroom discussions. The study generated three design principles, six task types and 31 empirically evaluated tasks useful for developing and using CRS tasks in classroom practices. The results are discussed in relation to earlier research, methodological considerations and the cultural context of Sweden.
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| 20. |
- Gustafsson, Patrik, 1974-
(författare)
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Frameworks for task design and technology integration in the mathematics classroom
- 2016
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent years many teachers and students have begun having good access to digital technology in their classrooms, and in the context of Sweden the majority of secondary schools are known as one-to-one schools, with students having their own computer or tablet. However, the mere presence of technology in the classroom is not a guarantee for improved teaching and learning. In fact, there is a challenge involved with integrating technology in the classroom and many teachers need support. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge about support for teachers integrating digital technology, especially a classroom response system (CRS), in the mathematics classroom. This is done by focusing on frameworks for CRS task design and technology integration. The thesis consists of two papers and a kappa. Both papers use data from a design research project including interventions in two cases. Paper I focuses on the development of design principles and task types for CRS tasks in a multiple-choice format aiming to engineer mathematical classroom discussions. The study generated three design principles, six task types, and 31 empirically evaluated tasks. The empirical evaluation shows that teachers consider the evaluated CRS tasks useful for engineering mathematical classroom discussions. Paper II focuses on exploring the potential of Ruthven’s (2009) SFCP framework as tool for analyzing empirical data in order to conceptualize and analyze teachers’ reasoning about critical aspects of technology integration in the mathematics classroom. The results show that the SFCP framework can be useful for capturing teachers’ reasoning about critical aspects of technology integration, but also that the framework does not capture teachers’ reasoning about students’ attitudes and behaviors. Therefore, the framework would benefit from taking into consideration students’ attitudes and behaviors, as these features are a challenge teachers need to deal with when integrating technology in the classroom. This thesis kappa, building on earlier research as well as the results and methods of its own papers, ends with an elaborated discussion on the challenges and support for teachers wanting to integrate CRS in their mathematics classroom.
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| 21. |
- Gustafsson, Patrik, 1974-
(författare)
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Support for productive whole-class discussions in mathematics : Developing and exploring frameworks in the context of classroom response systems
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In recent decades, research has stressed the importance of productive classroom discussions in high-quality mathematical instruction for all learners. However, after decades of attempts by professional development programs to support teachers in achieving these discussions, they are rarely reported on in the classroom context. Thus, there is still a need for support for teachers’ establishment of these discussions. One promising activity for achieving productive discussions involves using a classroom response system and implementing tasks in a multiple-choice format. However, there is little knowledge about whole-class discussions in secondary school mathematics using this approach. This thesis responds to this lack by contributing to knowledge about support for achieving productive whole-class discussions in mathematics using classroom response systems and multiple-choice tasks. The thesis particularly addresses knowledge about the key practices of constructing multiple-choice tasks and leading whole-class discussions. This is operationalized by applying an educational design research approach to 1) develop design principles for constructing tasks and a supplementary task type framework and further evaluate the potential of these design principles by characterizing whole-class discussions, and 2) explore frameworks for analyzing teachers’ leading of whole-class discussions and technology integration. In this work, data from interviews with teachers, reflection notes, and observations were used. The main results cover: characteristics of useful tasks in a multiple-choice format aiming at supporting teachers in achieving productive discussions; characteristics of whole-class discussions in the context of classroom response system in secondary school mathematics; the potential of applying the Structuring Features of Classroom Practice framework as an analytic tool to conceptualize and analyze teachers’ reasoning about classroom response system; and the suggestion of five new categories of teacher actions and enrichments of two existing categories in the redirecting, progressing and focusing framework. In the kappa of this thesis, these results are merged and discussed in relation to theories of ambitious mathematics instruction. The focus is on examining whether and how classroom response systems and multiple-choice tasks can support teachers in establishing this instruction. In summary, the main contributions of this thesis are: a tool for constructing multiple-choice tasks aimed at generating productive discussions in mathematics; an examination of analytical tools for analyzing teachers’ leading of whole-class discussions and technology integration; and suggestions for the development of these tools.
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| 22. |
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| 23. |
- Hemmi, Kirsti, 1957-, et al.
(författare)
-
Effective mathematics teaching in Finnish and Swedish teacher education discourses
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1386-4416 .- 1573-1820. ; 18, s. 501-521
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article explores effective mathematics teaching as constructed in Finnish and Swedish teacher educators’ discourses. Based on interview data from teacher educators as well as data from feedback discussions between teacher educators and prospective teachers in Sweden and Finland, the analysis shows that several aspects of the recent international reform movements are visible in the discourses in both countries. However, the Swedish teacher educators tend to conceptualize effective teaching as interactions with individual children, building on students’ ideas and emanating mathematics from everyday situations, while the Finnish teacher educators stress the importance of a clear presentation of mathematics, routines and homework as well as specific goals for every lesson. The results of this cross-cultural study cannot be generalized to the two countries but rather show interesting conceptualizations of effective teaching, adding to international theory-building.
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| 24. |
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| 25. |
- Hemmi, Kirsti, et al.
(författare)
-
The culture of the mathematics classroom during the first school years in Finland and Sweden
- 2014
-
Ingår i: <em>Mathematics and Transition to School - International Perspectives</em>. - Singapore : Springer. - 9789812872142 ; , s. 185-199
-
Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter elaborates findings from a longitudinal ongoing cross-cultural study comparing the teacher education and classroom practices in Finland and Sweden. The focus is on the cultural scripts of mathematics instruction during the first school years (ages 6-8). Firstly, we present a description of the contexts of each country concerning primary teacher education and the transition from pre-school to school. We then characterize the dominating conceptualizations of the mathematics classroom practices for the early years in both countries, building on several analyses of different data sources. We focus especially on the intricate balance between flexibly building mathematics on pupils’ ideas of familiar everyday phenomena within a thematic teaching style on the one hand, and on the other, the organization of learning environments strictly based on a predetermined hypothetical learning trajectory (Clements & Sarama, 2007). Finally, we discuss our findings in light of the international literature on early mathematics education and transition from pre-school to school.
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| 26. |
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| 27. |
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| 28. |
- Hoelgaard, Lena, et al.
(författare)
-
Teaching by the book
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Nordic research in mathematics education – Proceedings of NORMA14, Turku, June 3-6, 2014. - Turku. - 9789525993172
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)
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| 29. |
- Insulander, Eva, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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Teacher agency in professional development programmes – A case study of professional development material and collegial discussion
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Learning, Culture and Social Interaction. - : Elsevier BV. - 2210-6561 .- 2210-657X. ; 23
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article offers insight into teacher agency in professional development programmes, focusing on a national policy initiative in Sweden aiming to provide in-depth professional development for mathematics teachers. Data was produced from video observations from two collegial discussions with one group of teachers, during the professional development programme. We closely analyse forms of agency in the collegial discussions in relation to the affordances of the professional development materials. The analysis shows a complex relationship between possibilities for independent judgement as constructed in curriculum materials, teachers' agency, and the coach's role in collegial discussions. Contrary to previous research, the findings indicate that opportunities for facilitating enactment in professional development materials do not necessarily lead to teacher agency. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the Swedish educational context.
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| 30. |
- Jankvist, Uffe, et al.
(författare)
-
Future challenges of mathematics education research in the Nordic region : Young researchers’ perspective
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of NORMA 11. - Reijkjavik : University of Iceland Press. - 9789979549659
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the last decade research in mathematics education has grown and consolidated in the Nordic countries. New and younger researchers are entering the field as a result of the organization of solid doctoral programs and the growth of teaching and research environments in higher education institutions. The social, cultural and economic contexts of our countries have also changed in the last decade. The question of which are the main challenges for research in the years to come is worth exploring for a community starting a new decade of work. The intention of the panel is to generate a discussion in the community by having young researchers present their views on: (1) which topics of research the Nordic region has contributed to the world and that deserve being strengthened in the future; (2) which new topics of research that may become relevant as social changes pose new demands on our knowledge and understanding of the practices of mathematics education in the educational system; and (3) which institutional affordances and constraints young researchers experience for the development of research
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| 31. |
- Kaufmann, Odd Tore, et al.
(författare)
-
Teachers’ Error-handling Practices Within and Across Lesson Phases in the Mathematics Classroom
- 2022
-
Ingår i: International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education. - : Springer. - 1571-0068 .- 1573-1774.
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Multiple studies have been conducted regarding teachers’ error-handling practices, and how errors can be treated as opportunities for learning, albeit in the context of whole-class discussions. The aim of the present research is to continue to investigate teachers’ error-handling practices as they occur in different phases of maths lessons: introduction of the task, when students are working alone, and when students are working in pairs and finally, as part of the whole-class discussion. The study included 51 lessons from twelve teachers. A cross-case analysis was made across the individual teacher cases to look for similarities and differences between different teachers’ error-handling practices across the lesson phases in order to create teaching profiles with similar handling of student errors across the lesson phases. Five error-handling teaching profiles were identified; correcting errors throughout all phases, correcting errors during students’ work while few errors are brought up in whole class, correcting errors during students’ work while using a variety of practices in whole class, ignoring errors while using some of them in whole class, and discussing and explaining errors.
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| 32. |
- Kaufmann, Odd Tore, et al.
(författare)
-
Teachers’ framing of students’ difficulties in mathematics learning in collegial discussions
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0031-3831 .- 1470-1170. ; 67:7, s. 1069-1085
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigates the diagnostic and prognostic framings of Swedishmathematics teachers regarding the difficulties experienced by studentsin mathematics learning. Collegial discussions among 65 mathematicsteachers in nine collegial groups were videotaped during a professionaldevelopment (PD) program entitled Boost for Mathematics for analysis.The results show that the diagnostic framings of the teachers weremainly attributed to the cognitive abilities of students, whereas theprognostic framings were mainly related to lesson organization suchthat students should collaborate. While the teachers emphasizecollaborate group work, they put little emphasis on how they could actin these learning situations. These results contribute to theunderstanding of Swedish mathematics teachers’ framing of students’difficulties in mathematics learning and to the role of collegialdiscussions in PD initiatives.
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| 33. |
- Kirsten, Nils, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
-
How effective is the professional development in which teachers typically participate? Quasi-experimental analyses of effects on student achievement based on TIMSS 2003-2019
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Teaching and Teacher Education. - : Elsevier. - 0742-051X .- 1879-2480. ; 132
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study examines the effect of teachers' participation in mathematics and science professional development (PD) on student achievement in nationally representative settings. We use data from all OECD countries in the 2003 through 2019 cycles of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and apply student fixed effects to control for unobserved student characteristics and school quality. We find a small negative average effect of PD participation, with negative effects concentrated among high-performing students. We discuss potential explanations of these results and suggest ways PD studies may inform the PD in which teachers typically participate. & COPY; 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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| 34. |
- Koljonen, Tuula, et al.
(författare)
-
Analysing the nature of potentially constructed mathematics classrooms in Finnish teacher guides–the case of Finland
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Research in Mathematics Education. - : Routledge. - 1479-4802 .- 1754-0178. ; 20:3, s. 295-311
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Given that curriculum materials serve as cultural artefacts, this study addresses the need for more research on curriculum materials in different contexts. Most studies concerning curriculum materials have been conducted in US and, therefore little is known about the nature of materials in other cultural-educational contexts. The aim of this paper is to identify the underlying cultural norms of potentially constructed classrooms, by analysing recurrent activities in the most commonly used Finnish teacher guides at primary-school level. We identified three norms embedded in them: (1) creating opportunities for learning through a variety of activities and communication; (2) keeping the class gathered around a specific mathematical topic; and (3) concurrent active involvement of teachers and students. The results add to knowledge about both teacher guides and the Finnish educational context. Moreover, it adds to the growing body of methodologies, as our analytical approach is novel in the context of textual analysis.
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| 35. |
- Koljonen, Tuula, et al.
(författare)
-
Finnish mathematics classrooms as construced by nine teacher guides
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this article we explore how mathematics classrooms are constructed in the most commonly used teacher guides for elementary schools (Grades 1-6) in Finland. The teacher guides cover about 87 percent of the Finnish market and several reports show that Finnish teachers appreciate and follow the guides. The construction of classrooms is investigated in terms of cultural scripts through analysis of the form and function of the conveyed recurrent classroom activities – quantitatively. The analyses reveal relatively uniform cultural scripts with certain pattern regularly, emerging in all three textbook series. For instance that, the lessons gives all students opportunity to join whole class interaction where communication, variation with routines exists as well as homework are offered. These findings are discussed in the light of earlier cross-cultural research about effective mathematics teaching and in relation to methodological challenges of mapping cultural scripts.
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| 36. |
- Koljonen, Tuula
(författare)
-
Finnish Teacher Guides in Mathematics : Resources for primary school teachers in designing teaching
- 2014
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Previous research worldwide has shown that curriculum materials maintain a strong presence and constitute an important tool, artefact, in mathematics classrooms. Yet, there is a vast lack of research on the design and the characteristics of teacher guides. The thesis aims to: 1) investigate the features of the Finnish teacher guides for mathematics at primary school and 2) map the cultural specificities and norms for classroom practices as construed in Finnish teacher guides. The data consist of nine Finnish teacher guides in mathematics (belonging to three textbook series) for Grades 1-6 and comprise almost 90 percent of the teacher guides utilized in Finnish schools for 2008. These teacher guides are examined through three studies. In the first study, we developed an analytical tool based on Davis and Krajcik’s ideas about educative curriculum materials when analysing the teacher guides’ content. In the second study, we analysed a larger sample of the Finnish teacher guides using the same analytical tool, but extending the study to also analyse their form, i.e. their look, structure and voice. This study shows that there is a wide consensus on both the content and the form of the guides. While several educative aspects are weakly presented in the guides, the analysis shows that they offer rich and varied resources for teachers in their everyday work in designing and enacting mathematics teaching and hence, learning in practice. The third study delves more deeply into the characteristics of the support the guides offer to design mathematics classrooms. We characterize the cultural script of the reflected classroom practice by analysing the form and the function of the activities promoted in most of the guides. We found a relatively homogeneous script that promotes differentiation while keeping students in the same mathematical area, opportunities to participate in whole-class interaction that comprises a variety of activities, like mental calculation, games, problem-solving, individual and group work, and small piece of homework after every single lesson. The thesis contributes to the international research discourse on curriculum materials and in particular on teacher guides as resources for design of mathematics classroom in a specific educational context. The study is also of interest for teachers, and for text-book authors in developing teacher guides in line with research.
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| 37. |
- Larsson, Maria, et al.
(författare)
-
Balancing on the edge of competency-oriented versus procedural-oriented practices : orchestrating whole-class discussions of complex mathematical problems
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Mathematics Education Research Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1033-2170 .- 2211-050X. ; 24:4, s. 447-465
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Establishing and maintaining key mathematical practices in wholeclass discussions, such as justifying claims, representing mathematical objects and making connections between the representations, is crucial to the development of students' mathematical competencies. The aim of this article is to investigate how and why the establishment of key mathematical practices in whole-class discussions varies in a teaching mathematics through problemsolving project. Analyses of transcribed video-recorded whole-class discussions result in the suggestion that the complexity of the mathematical problem itself as well as the complexity related to teaching the problem may contribute to more procedure-oriented practices instead of competency-oriented practices that create opportunities for the students to develop their mathematical competencies on a broad front. However, the results also suggest that the teaching of complex mathematical problems might develop the teacher's establishment and maintenance of key mathematical practices. Researchers initiating an intervention project hence have to consider both the students' and the teacher's learning trajectories, which might not always coincide. Other important aspects for the researcher to consider are discussed and pointed out as important areas for future research, such as how explicit introduction of appropriate frameworks may support teachers in learning to teach mathematics through problem solving.
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| 38. |
- Larsson, Maria, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
-
EFFECTIVE TEACHING THROUGH PROBLEM-SOLVING BY SEQUENCING AND CONNECTING STUDENT SOLUTIONS
- 2011
-
Ingår i: <em>Proceedings of NORMA11: The sixth Nordic conference on mathematics education in Reykjavik, May 11-14 2011 </em>. - Reykjavik : University of Iceland Press. - 9789979549659 ; , s. 425-434
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- How can researchers support teachers in the complexity of orchestrating productive mathematical whole-class discussions based on students’ solutions to challenging problems? This study has two aims: Firstly, to study how the teacher can select, sequence and connect different student solutions in order to effectively orchestrate mathematical whole-class discussions. Secondly, to critically reflect on the role of the researchers in this intervention project. Analyses of audio recorded interviews and video recorded whole-class discussions result in suggestions for how student solutions can be sequenced in this particular case to set the scene for connecting them with each other and with key mathematical ideas. We further critically reflect on how we as researchers can improve our work in supporting practicing teachers.
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| 39. |
- Larsson, Maria, 1975-
(författare)
-
Orchestrating mathematical whole-class discussions in the problem-solving classroom : Theorizing challenges and support for teachers
- 2015
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Promising teaching approaches for developing students’ mathematical competencies include the approach of teaching mathematics through problem solving. Orchestrating a whole-class discussion of students’ ideas is an important aspect of teaching through problem solving. There is a wide consensus within the field that it is very challenging for the teacher to conduct class discussions that both build on student ideas and highlight key mathematical ideas and relationships. Further, fostering argumentation in the class, which is important for students’ participation, is also a grand challenge. Teachers need support in these challenges. The aim of the thesis is to characterize challenges and support for mathematics teachers in orchestrating productive problem-solving whole-class discussions that focus on both mathematical connection-making and argumentation. In particular, it is investigated how Stein et al.’s (2008) model with five practices – anticipating, monitoring, selecting, sequencing and connecting student solutions – can support teachers to handle the challenges and what constitutes the limitations of the research-based and widely-used model. This thesis builds on six papers. The papers are based on three intervention studies and on one study of a mathematics teacher proficient in conducting problem-solving class discussions. Video recordings of observed whole-class discussions as well as audio-recorded teacher interviews and teacher meetings constitute the data that are analyzed. It is concluded in the thesis that the five practices model supports teachers’ preparation before the lesson by the practice of anticipating. However, making detailed anticipations, which is shown to be both challenging and important to foster argumentation in the class, is not explicitly supported by the model. Further, the practice of monitoring supports teachers in using the variety of student solutions to highlight key mathematical ideas and connections. Challenging aspects not supported by the monitoring practice are, however, how to interact with students during their exploration to actually get a variety of different solutions as a basis for argumentation. The challenge of selecting and sequencing student solutions is supported for the purpose of connection-making, but not for the purpose of argumentation. Making mathematical connections can be facilitated by the last practice of connecting, with the help of the previous practices. However, support for distinguishing between different kinds of connections is lacking, as well as support for creating an argumentative classroom culture. Since it is a great challenge to promote argumentation among students, support is needed for this throughout the model. Lastly, despite the importance and challenge of launching a problem productively, it is not supported by the model. Based on the conclusions on challenges and support, developments to the five practices model are suggested. The thesis contributes to research on the theoretical development of tools that support teachers in the challenges of orchestrating productive problem-solving whole-class discussions.
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| 40. |
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| 41. |
- Lindvall, Jannika, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
-
Coherence and the Positioning of Teachers in Professional Development Programs : A Systematic Review
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Educational Research Review. - : Elsevier BV. - 1747-938X. ; 27, s. 140-154
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Lately, scholars have argued that there is a consensus on a number of critical features of effective teacher professional development (PD). This study presents the results of a systematic review of one of these features: coherence. The analysis and synthesis of 95 papers show that coherence in PD is conceptualized in various ways, and thus that the aforementioned consensus can be questioned. For example, should PD (1) be coherent with external factors, such as standards and assessments; (2) be internally coherent, for example that activities within PD programs should be aligned; or (3) create coherence between goals that are either predetermined or negotiated together with teachers? The different conceptualizations of coherence all implicate how teachers are positioned in relation to PD programs and, in the light of our results, we argue that teachers are primarily seen as implementers expected to align their instruction with external and predetermined goals and practices.
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| 42. |
- Lindvall, Jannika
(författare)
-
Critical features and impacts of mathematics teacher professional development programs : Comparing and characterizing programs implemented at scale
- 2017
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the knowledge base on conceptualizations and impacts of teacher professional development (PD) programs. This is done by studying the case of two large-scale teacher PD programs. The first was mandatory for all public elementary school mathematics teachers in a larger Swedish municipality, and the second has been completed by 76% of all elementary school mathematics teachers in Sweden. In the municipality, and during the time frame in which this study was conducted, it was possible to make a comparison between teachers participating in different programs. Data on the programs’ impacts on teachers, instruction, and student achievement were gathered both immediately and one year after the teachers’ participation in one of them. In other words, the context of the study created an opportunity to respond to recent calls for studies that (a) examine the impacts of PD programs implemented on a larger scale, (b) adhere to PD programs’ impacts on teachers, instruction, and student achievement, (c) examine the sustainability of PD programs’ impacts, and (d) attend to variations within and between PD programs’ impacts. The results show that the studied programs are highly similar if characterized according to established research frameworks on what constitutes critical features of teacher PD. At the same time, they demonstrate different impacts, both between the programs and within them. These results suggested an elaboration of two of the five critical features of teacher PD: Content Focus and Coherence. Through the development and application of a more finely grained tool to characterize the programs’ Content Focus, differences between their characteristics were detected. Together with a systematic review of the PD research literature on Coherence, these results formed a basis for discussing plausible reasons for the difference in the programs’ impacts as well as elaborating on the critical features of Content Focus and Coherence. In summary, the thesis contributes: (a) empirical results in relation to large-scale teacher PD programs’ impacts; (b) methodological results in the form of tools for characterizing PD programs’ Content Focus and Coherence; and (c) theoretical results, as it examines established frameworks for characterizing teacher PD programs by using them in practice and, in light of the results, also suggests an elaboration of them.
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| 43. |
- Lindvall, Jannika, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
-
Does the duration of professional development programs influence effects on instruction? : An analysis of 174 lessons during a national-scale program
- 2023
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Teacher Education. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 0261-9768 .- 1469-5928. ; , s. 1-19
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We examine the effects of a year-long national-scale professional development (PD) program on mathematics instructional quality. In contrast to previous studies examining the effects of this program on instruction by comparing before and after participation or parti-cipants and non-participants, we examine whether instructional quality changed during the program. More specifically, we conduct an analysis of 174 video-recorded mathematics lessons given by 52 teachers during their year of participation. Contrary to previous studies, the results demonstrate that the instructional quality did not improve over the course of the PD. We suggest that the explanations for the diverging results concern how, when, and to what extent instructional quality changes in PD programs. Specifically, we discuss how the explanations may illuminate the significance of PD duration for PD effects, and how these effects may be mediated by features concerning the PD content and the scale at which the program is implemented.
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| 44. |
- Lindvall, Jannika, 1987-, et al.
(författare)
-
Impact and Design of a National-scale Professional Development Program for Mathematics Teachers
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0031-3831 .- 1470-1170. ; 66:5, s. 744-759
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- By examining the effects of a national-scale teacher professional development (PD) program on instructional practices and student mathematics achievement, we contribute to calls for empirical studies investigating the impacts of such programs conducted at scale. The program corresponds well with core critical features of high-quality teacher PD and mathematics instruction identified in the literature, and the results indicate that it has had a small but statistical significant impact on teachers' instructional practices. However, no effect was found for student achievement. These results raise questions as to the importance of the critical features and how programs incorporating all of them affect instructional practices and student achievement.
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| 45. |
- Lindvall, Jannika, 1987-
(författare)
-
Supporting instructional improvement at scale : The role of teacher professional development programs and mathematics curriculum materials
- 2016
-
Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We are currently witnessing an increase of international interest in mathematics education, fueled partly by the growing concerns of students’ declining results, but also by changed perceptions of what mathematics students should master. In response, many initiatives have appeared in order to move away from traditional to more inquiry based approaches to teaching. Though several small-scale studies have contributed much to our understanding on how to support teachers in this work, there is still a lack of research conducted on a larger scale. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to add to our knowledge of how to support instructional improvement at scale. This is done by focusing on two common approaches to support mathematics teachers’ development of reform based practices: teacher professional development [PD] programs and curriculum materials. The thesis builds on four papers which are all connected to a project aiming at improving the mathematics instruction in a large Swedish municipality. The project includes a PD-program for almost 400 elementary teachers and the mathematics curriculum materials that teachers are using play a central role in the program. The first two papers focus on curriculum materials either by using surveys to compare teachers’ views of the support offered in the materials and their reported mathematics instruction, or by conducting textbook analyses to characterize how some commonly used materials communicate about, for example, goals of lessons. The results demonstrate that teachers using different materials experience different levels of support from them and also show variations in their reported instruction. These differences are further reflected in the textbook analyses which show that the materials offer teachers various support, for example regarding how they communicate about goals. The last two papers focus on teacher PD-programs either by comparing the effects of two programs on student achievement, or by using surveys to examine teachers’ views of one of the programs and its impact on their reported instruction. The results indicate that the two PD-programs have affected students’ achievement in different ways, demonstrating both decline and improvement. Even within the programs differences are revealed between students at the primary and secondary levels. These variations are further present in the teacher surveys, where the results show differences between teachers from different grade-levels. By drawing on the literature review and the results of the papers, the thesis ends with a discussion of possible elaborations of a widely used core conceptual framework for studying teacher PD.
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| 46. |
- Matta, Corrado, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
-
Automatized visualization methods for the qualitative analysis of teachers' collegial discussions
- 2022
-
Ingår i: New Trends in Qualitative Research (NTQR). - : Ludomedia. - 2184-7770. ; 11:-, s. 1-15
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we discuss a set of procedures for the visualization of conversation data, based on machine learning and text mining algorithms. The methodological function of these visualization methods is to support (rather than substitute) humanistic and interpretive qualitative data analysis. The context of our methodological discussion is the study of teachers’ learning communities. Enabling collegial learning among teachers has been argued to play a pivotal role in both teachers’ professional development and students’ learning. The problem is that the interpretive study of collegial discussions among teachers, which are typically considered a fruitful context for the study of teachers' collegial learning, is both time-consuming and cognitively demanding. Several scholars have discussed the potential of including machine learning and text mining in the toolbox of qualitative data analysis as a way to analyze large qualitative data sets and solve the time demand problem. However, the literature discussing the use of machine learning and text mining for qualitative research typically conceives the algorithms as substitutes for the work of the researcher. These automatized approaches are introduced to categorize the data, substituting the researcher in the analysis process. In contrast, we discuss the potential rewards of using automatized methods to support the analysis of teachers’ collegial discussions. We introduce a set of visualization procedures based on semi-supervised topic modeling and supervised classification algorithms and discuss how these visualizations can provide additional elements useful for the analysis of collegial discussions. Whereas these visualizations do not substitute interpretive analysis, we argue that they can support researchers’ interpretations by reducing data, identifying patterns of interactions, and possibly, visualizing group-level learning.
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| 47. |
- Matta, Corrado, 1978-, et al.
(författare)
-
The Mechanistic Rewards of Data and Theory Integration for Theory-Based Evaluation
- 2024
-
Ingår i: American Journal of Evaluation. - : Sage Publications. - 1098-2140 .- 1557-0878. ; 45:1, s. 110-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article, we discuss the methodological implications of data and theory integration for Theory-Based Evaluation (TBE). TBE is a family of approaches to program evaluation that use program theories as instruments to answer questions about whether, how, and why a program works. Some of the groundwork about TBE has expressed the idea that a proper program theory should specify the intervening mechanisms underlying the program outcome. In the present article, we discuss in what way data and theory integration can help evaluators in constructing and refining mechanistic program theories. The paper argues that a mechanism is both a network of entities and activities and a network of counterfactual relations. Furthermore, we argue that although data integration typically provides information about different parts of a program, it is the integration of theory that provides the most important mechanistic insights.
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| 48. |
- Nardi, E., et al.
(författare)
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Commognitive analyses of the learning and teaching of mathematics at university level : The case of discursive shifts in the study of Calculus
- 2014
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Ingår i: Research in Mathematics Education. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1479-4802 .- 1754-0178. ; 16:2, s. 182-198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we outline the main tenets of the commognitive approach and we exemplify its application in studies that investigate the learning and teaching of mathematics at university level. Following an overview of such applications, we focus on three studies that explore fundamental discursive shifts often occurring in the early stages of studying Calculus. These shifts concern the lecturers' and students' communicative practices, routines of constructing mathematical objects and ways of resolving commognitive conflicts. We then propose that commognitive constructs such as subjectification can be deployed towards 'scaling-up' the hitherto fine-grained focus of commognitive analyses. Finally, we conclude with observing how the commognitive approach relates to constructs from other sociocultural approaches to research in university mathematics education, such as "legitimate peripheral participation" from the theory of Communities of Practice and "didactic contract" from the Theory of Didactic Situations. © 2014 © 2014 British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics.
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| 49. |
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| 50. |
- Neuman (Lindvall), Jannika, et al.
(författare)
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MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS’ IMPACT ON CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION : EXAMINING THE VIEWS OF 278 SWEDISH TEACHERS
- 2015
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Ingår i: <em>Studies in Subject Didactics 10. Nordic Research in Mathematics Education - Proceedings of NORMA14</em>. - 9789525993172 ; , s. 215-225
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- For mathematics teachers to achieve an instruction where students have the opportunity to develop different mathematical competencies is difficult without access to adequate support. The most commonly used supportive tools are by far mathematics textbooks. However, in Sweden, there is very little research available on the characteristics of these materials. In this paper we aim to examine the relationship between teachers’ (K–6) perceived support from the curriculum materials and their mathematics instruction, looking for patterns associated with commonly used textbooks. Our analysis of teachers’ responses to a questionnaire (n=278) showed major differences regarding perceived support for teachers using different textbooks. This pattern was also evident when the teachers were to report about their mathematics instruction.
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