Mathematics Teacher Educators Learning at the Boundary Between Classroom Practice and Educational Research
Keywords:
mathematics teacher educators, critical friends, boundary crossing, mathematics teacher education researchAbstract
Education departments provide support for teachers of mathematics, particularly out-of-field teachers, to improve their mathematics teaching. In this article, we explore the insights and learnings of mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) working as critical friends outside the formal structures of research or professional learning leadership. As part of the Queensland Department of Education M in STEM project mathematics educators from Queensland universities supported teachers in clusters of schools to address their shared problem of practice in mathematics teaching. This case study employed the Most Significant Change methodology to investigate how MTEs engaged at the boundary between classroom practice and educational research. Findings indicated that MTEs, through their roles as critical friends, had opportunities to hear teachers’ stories, observe classrooms in diverse contexts, and develop new insights into teaching practices. This process also enabled the generation of new or hybrid knowledge that bridged theory and practice. Implications for initial teacher education include a strengthened capacity for MTEs to connect curriculum and pedagogy with the lived challenges of classroom practice.
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