Sometimes things do not go exactly to plan…

As any teacher can attest, there are times when the intended outcomes of a lesson do not simply materialize when the bell rings. The same principle exists for the professional development of teachers. At the annual conference for the Association for Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE) my colleagues and I had a chance to share some examples of this happening within a National Science Foundation project, Access, Agency, and Allies in Mathematical Systems (A3IMS), where tensions arose when what was intended was not what occurred. The story we share is about the necessary managing of tension (not elimination) that needs to occur within these situations.

The activities described in this presentation can be found on the A3IMS websitewhere materials from all the activities within the multi-year professional development are shared. Below is the citation for this presentation.

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

Amidon, J., Foote, M. Q., Koestler, C., Harper, F., & Bartell, T. G. (February, 2019). Double vision: Considering different perspectives on professional development task modules to promote equitable mathematics instruction. Session at annual conference of the Association for Mathematics Teacher Educators. Orlando, FL