This session focuses on two professional development projects, both aimed at increasing geometric content knowledge of middle school mathematics teachers and their students. The goal is to engage grantees in considering what the presenters are learning about the impact of these projects and to consider next steps in advancing the field. The two participating projects are:

The Learning and Teaching Geometry (LTG) project is creating video case-based materials designed to promote teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching related to a geometric transformations approach to similarity. Research questions that LTG addresses include To what extent are the LTG professional development materials implemented as they were intended? What is the impact of participation in the LTG professional development program on teachers’ knowledge of geometry for teaching, and to what extent do differences in implementation account for differences in teacher learning? What is the impact of teachers’ participation in the LTG professional development program on their students’ performance in geometry?                 

Fostering Mathematics Success of English Language Learners (FMSELL) is an efficacy study of the effects of the Fostering Geometric Thinking Toolkit (FGTT) professional development materials for teachers of English language learners. FGTT is a 40-hour intervention focusing on properties of geometric figures, geometric transformations, and measurement of length, area, and volume. The project tests the hypothesis that geometric problem solving combined with opportunities for multimodal representation, academic language development, and engagement in high cognitive demand tasks affords teachers opportunities to support English language learning. Research questions that FMSELL addresses include Does participation in FGTT increase teachers’ geometric content knowledge? How does teachers’ participation affect attention to students’ thinking and mathematical communication? How does participation affect instructional practices? What impact on English language learners’ problem-solving strategies is evident when teachers participate in FGTT?

This panel addresses the need for professional development in light of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Composed of researchers and practitioners, participants in the panel will share what research has to say about the need for offering teachers quality professional development at scale, as well as what practitioners have to say about current efforts to support and prepare teachers who are ready for the implementation of the new standards. The presentation builds on the work that resulted in the March 2012 publication of the report Supporting Implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: Recommendations for Professional Development. Following a description of the process through which the recommendations were generated in the project and a presentation of the resulting recommendations, practitioners who were engaged in the project will present their perspectives on what is actually happening in professional development in their districts.

Work is progressing to develop the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). With private funding from the Carnegie Corporation and support from National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Research Council (NRC) and Achieve, Inc., have embarked on a two-step cooperative process to develop the NGSS. The first step was to develop a conceptual framework that is grounded in current research on science and science learning and identifies the science all K–12 students should know. The NRC released the Framework for K–12 Science Education in July of 2011. The next step is the development of the actual standards, a process led by Achieve involving science experts, science teachers, states, and other science education partners. This two-step process takes a broader and more cooperative approach to the development of science standards. The NGSS are due for completion in early 2013.

This collaborative session begins with a dilemma—the realization that professional development often falls short of expectations for improving teacher practice and classroom learning. The presenters realize that teaching is a culturally bound endeavor, and changing classroom culture is extremely complex. Their NSF projects are founded on theories of action grounded in research, that is, theories of what is required for professional development programs to change teacher awareness, motivation, understanding, and actual classroom action in STEM. Historically, those theories of action have often fallen short of the presenters’ ambitions. Now, advances in technology may provide new potential for meeting professional development challenges. Do these affordances, when blended with established research-based models, create novel opportunities for increasing the effectiveness of professional development?

Participants planning to attend this session are encouraged to think in advance about the following questions: (1) What works? (2) How can technology help? (3) What new questions are raised? (4) What next steps can we take for increasing professional development effectiveness? The presenters each have projects informing the issue and share experiences so that discussion is facilitated by explicit examples. The session may result in a DR K–12 professional development working group that continues to share ideas, challenges, and strategies.