- Year 2016
- NSF Noyce Award # 1240127
- First Name Lisa
- Last Name Lamb
- Discipline Mathematics, Science
- Co-PI(s)
Donna L. Ross, SDSU, DLRoss@mail.sdsu.edu
Randy Philipp, SDSU, rphilipp@mail.sdsu.edu
Meredith Vaughn, SDSU, mhoule@mail.sdsu.edu
Susan Nickerson, SDSU, snickerson@mail.sdsu.edu
Kathy Williams, SDSU, kathy.williams@mail.sdsu.edu - Presenters
David Tupper, Lakeside School District, dtupper@lsusd.net
Donna L. Ross, SDSU, DLRoss@mail.sdsu.edu
Lisa Lamb, SDSU, lclement@mail.sdsu.edu
Need
Our project has a strong focus on teacher noticing of student ideas in science. However, most teachers have little formal background in attending to student ideas. This is rarely a central topic in methods courses or professional development. Our project spent a week focused on how to do peer coaching around attending to students’ science ideas. Our project participants now have better skills to support their peers and student teachers.
Goals
Working in pairs, our Master Teaching Fellows developed lessons around the phenomenon of a person breaking a wine glass by singing. The MTFs taught the unit over the summer to middle school students. At the end of each day of teaching, the MTFs used videos of the teaching to coach each other on attending to student ideas. This week-long activity supported the teaching and leadership skills of our MTFs.
Approach
This week was only part of our yearly work with the MTFs, but in this week we used a framework of student noticing developed by math educators and we used a cognitive coaching model. Our project had been addressing each of these areas separately during the academic year leading up to this summer experience. During the summer, the MTFs taught in pairs. Each lesson was video recorded and the MTFs had an opportunity to observe the recordings. Then the MTFs coached each other in small groups after each day of teaching. The coaching sessions were also recorded. One member of each group was assigned to take notes on what questions or examples were used that most effectively moved the teachers to a deeper discussion of student ideas. At the end of the week, the MTFs considered these effective practices as they evaluated how to use these tools at their own sites.
Outcomes
Although our primary goal for this week was on coaching, we found that many of the MFTs expressed that this experience was instrumental in their shift in thinking of teacher noticing from a theoretical approach to something practical and accessible. The MTFs felt that this week integrated the practices of eliciting student ideas, attending to those ideas, and responding in the moment. In addition, they recognized the need to support their colleagues in this process.
Broader Impacts
Several MTFs have returned to their sites or districts and done professional development for their colleagues. Others have presented at local conferences.
