Dissertation
Effects of Elementary General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers, and Math Interventionists Collaborating in a Professional Learning Community
Washington State University
Doctor of Education (EdD), Washington State University
12/2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005566
Abstract
This qualitative research study examined how math interventionists and special education teachers collaborated with general education teachers. I focused on improving access to the core general education mathematics curriculum for elementary students with mathematics difficulty. Differing educational perspectives, divergent learning theories, and instructional approaches, as well as various curriculum materials, make collaboration between multiple teachers complex work. To foster collaboration and attend to the instructional needs of students with mathematics difficulty, I provided an eight-week professional development series. The series included the following topics: developing co-teaching roles and responsibilities, understanding principles of Cognitively Guided Instruction, understanding the Five Practices, creating rich math tasks, and using a multi-tiered system of support so students with mathematics difficulty could improve understandings. Data collected included interviews and observations before and after the professional development, as well as audio recordings during collaboration meetings and during professional learning community meetings. I found that for the teachers in this study, teachers' perception of student need and teachers' ability to create a learning trajectory affected the co-teaching relationship. I found that when participating teachers co-designed instruction by reframing math tasks and planned using the Five Practices, they focused on instruction to help students with mathematics difficulty attend to gaps in understandings. I also found that professional development supported math instruction through lesson summary enactment and lesson summary discourse patterns. Providing focused and intentional instruction, so students address and resolve mathematics difficulty is a worthy and important goal. This study endeavored to highlight ways mathematics educators and teacher leaders can support teachers and students who have mathematical difficulties.
Metrics
3 File views/ downloads
21 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Effects of Elementary General Education Teachers, Special Education Teachers, and Math Interventionists Collaborating in a Professional Learning Community
- Creators
- Jennifer Rae Brown Sanders
- Contributors
- Amy Roth-McDuffie (Chair) - Washington State University, Teaching and Learning, Department ofDavid Slavit (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Teaching and Learning, Department ofDarcy E Miller (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Teaching and Learning, Department of
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Educational Leadership, Sport Studies, and Educational/Counseling Psychology, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Education (EdD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 320
- Identifiers
- 99901054231301842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation