ERIC Number: EJ1096611
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-May
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1082-3301
EISSN: N/A
Primary Grades Teachers' Instructional Decisions during Online Mathematics Professional Development Activities
Polly, Drew; Martin, Christie S.; Wang, Chuang; Lambert, Richard G.; Pugalee, David K.
Early Childhood Education Journal, v44 n3 p275-287 May 2016
This study examines primary grades teachers' instructional decisions in their mathematics classroom during their participation in a year-long professional development program on formative assessment. Teachers participated in 40 h of face-to-face workshops followed by 40 h of classroom-embedded activities that were facilitated in an asynchronous online format. Inductive analysis of teachers' online discussion forum posts and their frequency of using an internet-based formative assessment system indicated significant variance in teachers' use of the formative assessment tool. Some teachers used the assessment system regularly and reported modifying instruction based on the data collected through formative assessment. However, some teachers demonstrated difficulty determining how the assessments aligned to specific mathematics standards, and how the assessment should inform their use of curriculum. Implications for future research include the need to triangulate data from instructional plans, surveys, and classroom observations, while implications for practice include the need to more explicitly support teachers' instructional planning process using specific curricular resources.
Descriptors: Mathematics Activities, Professional Development, Elementary School Teachers, Elementary School Mathematics, Online Courses, Teaching Methods, Mathematics Curriculum, Formative Evaluation, Synchronous Communication, Classroom Observation Techniques, Surveys, Instructional Development, Workshops, Computer Mediated Communication, Group Discussion, Mathematics Teachers
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A