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1. Characterizing College Instructors’ Attention During Peer Observations

   Jones, E.; Lee, S.; Gehrtz, J.; Prasad, P.V. (January 2023, Proceedings of the Annual Conference on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Research has highlighted that actively involving students during instruction can lead to positive outcomes for students. However, college mathematics instructors may need support to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively implement this type of instruction. This study looks at how college algebra instructors in a grant-supported professional learning community (PLC) focus on different aspects of their own and others’ teaching. We leverage the instructional triangle as an analytical framework to characterize the foci of participants’ observations. We analyzed PLC meetings where participants reported on specific aspects of each other’s observed classes. Our analysis revealed that instructors each had a primary focus that drove their observations. We anticipate these different foci will inform future PLC meetings and lead to new questions about instructor thinking, and to continued development of the instructional triangle. 

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2. Leveraging prospective teachers’ knowledge through their participation in lesson study

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10857-021-09521-4  

   González, Gloriana; Villafañe-Cepeda, Wanda; Hernández-Rodríguez, Omar (October 2021, Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education)

   This study focuses on a lesson study adaptation for bridging prospective teachers’ experiencesin a methods course and their field experiences in a teacher education program in Puerto Rico. We ask, what opportunities for teacher learning emerge during discussions in lesson study? Two lesson study teams of secondary mathematics prospective teachers, each led by an experienced mentor, planned technology-based lessons. Using the theoretical framework for lesson study by Lewis and colleagues, we analyzed video recordings of the teams’ discussions. The results show learning opportunities in the three dimensions of the framework: teachers’ knowledge and beliefs, the creation of a professional community, and the development of teaching–learning artifacts. The mentors leveraged prospective teachers’ knowledge, built on topics discussed in the methods course, and created a professional learning community. Three resources introduced in the methods course supported the creation of a hybrid space connecting academic and practitioner knowledge: shared language about teaching moves for using technology in math instruction, the mathematical proficiency framework, and a lesson plan template. The mentors drew upon their subject matter and pedagogical knowledge during their facilitation of lesson study. The intervention exemplifies a lesson study adaptation that is feasible in the context of a teacher education program. 

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3. Pandemic-Inspired Insights: What College Instructors Learned From Teaching When COVID-19 Began.

   Andrews, Tessa; Green, Kathryn (September 2021, Journal of college science teaching)

   College instructors faced a rapid transition to remote instruction in spring 2020, and with it a host of new teaching challenges. This qualitative study investigates what 26 college biology instructors learned about students and teaching during this time. We used semi-structured interviews and content analysis to identify instructor learning that is relevant beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants described two related insights about students: They became more aware that students' lives outside the classroom are complex, and they realized that their campus can act as a neutralizing space for students. Participants also reconsidered how they assess student learning. New realizations about students and teaching have the potential to impact teaching practices when in-person instruction resumes. Especially promising is an increased focus on students as individuals and the recognition that not all students experience life and courses in the same way. We relate findings to existing research and propose self-reflection questions that these findings raised for us 

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4. Perceived Impact of COVID-19 and Other Factors on STEM Students’ Career Development

   https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.51355/jstem.2020.91  

   Desrochers, Marcie; Naybor, Deborah; Kelting, Daniel (December 2020, Journal of research in stem education)

   null (Ed.)

   In early 2020, colleges shifted abruptly from traditional in-person to remote distant instruction due to COVID-19 potentially exacerbating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students’ recruitment and retention. This preliminary study using survey methodology was conducted with STEM students at a small (700 students) private college to examine questions related to students’ perceptions of natural science careers, career decision-making factors, barriers influencing students’ career path, including effects of COVID-19 on career goals, mental health, and perceived quality of instruction. A Qualtrics® survey was sent to 180 STEM students, from which we received 53 responses (29.4% response rate). Consistent with other studies, family was one of the most important factors supporting their career path. Students had a relatively upbeat career outlook despite being in the middle of a global pandemic and were only moderately worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their future career. Despite these relatively positive outcomes, the abrupt switch to online instruction was viewed unfavorably by most respondents, who valued the hands-on learning experiences obtained with traditional in-person instruction. It is possible that respondents’ views of online instruction may improve over time as instructors become more adept at using new instructional tools. Future research should evaluate this aspect and whether students’ career goals change across time as the pandemic unfolds. 

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5. The nature of an online work group reveals the teaching knowledge of inquiry-oriented linear algebra instructors through their goals for instruction

   Kim, M; McCrackin, S (December 2023, The Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America for Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education)

   Cook, S; Katz, B; Moore-Russo, D (Ed.)

   Postsecondary instructors interested in inquiry-oriented instruction of linear algebra participated in a sequence of eight one-hour online work group meetings with other inquiry-oriented linear algebra instructors and facilitators. Recordings were analyzed for how two participants referenced goals for instruction in discussions of implementing a new instructional unit on subspaces. We identified four goals for the instruction of teaching subspaces. We discuss the intersections of several goals that exist due to the tension caused by real-world contexts and abstract mathematical concepts. The instructors presented resolutions to the tension by utilizing varying teaching knowledge. Based on the results, we make suggestions for those who want to transition to inquiry-oriented instructional approaches. 

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