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Enhancing opportunities for ongoing mathematics-focused professional learning (PL) is a critical element of the rationale for developing and providing school- and district-based Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs). As EMSs develop and navigate relationships with teachers, school- and district-level administrators, family and community members, and others, they are well-positioned to advocate for responsive and impactful PL for individual teachers or groups of teachers.
Like all other professionals in the field of education, EMSs themselves have learning needs. These needs are both similar to and different from the PL needs of teachers. EMSs must advocate and take responsibility for their ongoing growth in mathematics content and pedagogical knowledge, as well as the continued nurturing and development of their leadership knowledge and related skills. They need access to local, regional, and national professional organizations and groups, including memberships and conference attending opportunities. Finally, EMSs must stay abreast of policy initiatives that may impact their roles and responsibilities.
L.3.a. Assuming responsibility for their own ongoing learning
L.3.b. Designing and facilitating educator professional learning
L.3.c. Advocating for structures in schools that support ongoing educator learning and consistency in practice
L.3.a. Assuming responsibility for their own ongoing learning
EMSs must take responsibility for their ongoing learning, growth, and identity development. This includes a focus on deepening their own understanding of mathematics content and pedagogy as well as knowledge, skills, and identity as a leader. Like educators, EMSs benefit from co-planning, co-teaching, coaching, and “doing the math” with one another, concurrently focusing on supporting educator learning (109). They should also engage in analysis of their leadership practices by collecting evidence over time from students and educators to determine the effectiveness of their work.
Locally- or regionally-developed EMS PL may range from opportunities to meet with other EMSs to share experiences, needs, successes, and challenges, to more formal opportunities focused on particular responsibilities of an EMS. Other ongoing PL experiences include those provided by professional mathematics education organizations (e.g., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics: Leadership in Mathematics Education, Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, TODOS Math for All) and their affiliates. Finally, EMSs should access and analyze research focused on effective and equitable practices and structures, and take action on issues related to mathematics, instruction, curriculum, assessment, and policy impacting the learning of students, teachers, and others.
Vignette L.3.b.
Collaborating to Improve Coaching Practice
EMS as District-Level Mathematics Coach: I am one of three mathematics coaches in a very rural district. Each of us has been assigned to two of the district’s six elementary schools. Our major responsibilities include building-based coaching, typically involving co-planning and lesson reflection and the connection of our coaching with PL opportunities for teachers. It took us close to 3 years to learn that we really needed to advocate for our own PL needs. We have acted. My two EMS colleagues and I, with enthusiastic approval from our mathematics supervisor, find time to meet one afternoon a week, typically each Friday from 1-3, to discuss teacher learning needs and related challenges, and just share ideas and discuss our learning needs. Sometimes it is a mathematics topic (e.g., connecting models and numeric representations to algorithms, supporting sense making and reasoning when problem solving), other times it is a teaching-related topic (e.g., the importance of questioning, strategies for engaging students in discourse, using mistakes as learning opportunities). We often discuss and share particular coaching or co-planning ideas that have worked well plus those that did not. More recently, we have been discussing our district’s implementation of the state’s revised mathematics standards and our collaboration with the Special Education team in developing our district’s mathematics intervention program. Our sharing time, whether face-to-face or virtual and in- or out-of-school, provides all of us with time to reflect on our needs and challenges each week, and is so important to us. We truly learn from each other.
Relevant Indicators: L.1.b., L.3.b., L.4.a.
L.3.b. Designing and implementing educator professional learning
EMSs working either as informal or formal leaders are called upon to design and implement PL for a range of educators (e.g., classroom teachers, resource teachers, paraprofessionals). They interact with both educators and school- and/or district-based administrators to determine PL needs. Based on these needs, EMSs establish PL goals that guide the planning and implementing of responsive, well-connected PL. This PL is internal to the school or district, and may also be external, such as conferences and university courses to increase local mathematics leadership capacity.
EMSs also recognize that productive PL may take a variety of forms and be offered to varying numbers of recipients (110). When supporting individual educators, EMSs may provide resources (e.g., professional readings, research, frameworks, tasks, problems, routines); co-plan, co-teach, or model instruction; and engage in a coaching cycle (i.e., plan, gather data, reflect). Support for groups of teachers may include activities such as “doing the math” (i.e., engaging with mathematical tasks), examining student work, analyzing classroom video or written cases, immersing in a book or article study, engaging in action research, and participating in lesson study or a modified version. Whether supporting individual teachers or groups of teachers, EMSs focus on deepening educators’ understanding of and relationship with mathematics, along with improving students’ learning experiences through school-wide implementation of ambitious and equitable mathematics teaching practices.
L.3.c. Advocating for structures in schools that support ongoing educator learning and consistency in practice
To achieve consistency in ambitious and equitable instruction and assessment, EMSs advocate for and help establish, maintain, and evaluate ongoing, high-quality mathematics PL opportunities (111). They do this by collaborating with administrators to: 1) develop a PL plan that provides time for collegial learning dedicated to mathematics during regular grade-level team meetings, faculty meetings, or other structured release times; and 2) communicate expectations for participation in ongoing mathematics-focused PL. EMSs may also provide optional, outside-the-school day PL experiences, all with the intent of connecting educator learning to desired shifts in classroom practices. Finally, EMSs advocate for their own schedule to support cycles of co-planning and co-teaching with individual teachers or groups of teachers, as well as to plan for and implement school-wide mathematics PL.
(109) Borko et al., 2014.(110) Gibbons & Cobb, 2017; Koellner et al, 2011.(111) c.f., Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Sztajn et al., 2017.
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