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Pädag. Hochsch., Diss., 2004--Ludwigsburg.

Universiẗat, Diss.--Siegen, 2005.

Universiẗat, Diss.--München, 2006.

School-based professional learning communities (PLCs) have become an important means of “building capacity” among teachers in a wide variety of areas, including those with a subject focus. Very often, these PLCs are mandated by administration, and operate under an established structure. This paper describes an attempt by a mathematics coordinator and school level “lead’ teachers to establish relatively informal PLCs in mathematics in an effort to improve mathematics teaching, and thus student learning, in an environment that focused very much on literacy. The four PLCs created are discussed, as are the opportunities and the challenges that go with the relative freedom offered to the teachers. Sustainability is a central challenge to these groups.

This paper examines the mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) in Indonesia, specifically in school geometry content. A translated and adapted version of the MKT measures developed by the Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) project was administered to 210 Indonesian primary and junior high teachers. Psychometric analyses revealed that items related to classification of quadrilaterals were difficult for these teachers. Further interactions with teachers in a professional development setting confirmed that teachers held a set of exclusive definitions of quadrilaterals.

School-based professional learning communities (PLCs) have become an important means of “building capacity” among teachers in a wide variety of areas, including those with a subject focus. Very often, these PLCs are mandated by administration, and operate under an established structure. This paper describes an attempt by a mathematics coordinator and school level “lead’ teachers to establish relatively informal PLCs in mathematics in an effort to improve mathematics teaching, and thus student learning, in an environment that focused very much on literacy. The four PLCs created are discussed, as are the opportunities and the challenges that go with the relative freedom offered to the teachers. Sustainability is a central challenge to these groups.

This paper examines the mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) in Indonesia, specifically in school geometry content. A translated and adapted version of the MKT measures developed by the Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) project was administered to 210 Indonesian primary and junior high teachers. Psychometric analyses revealed that items related to classification of quadrilaterals were difficult for these teachers. Further interactions with teachers in a professional development setting confirmed that teachers held a set of exclusive definitions of quadrilaterals.

Ausgehend von narrativen Interviews, Beobachtungen und gemeinsamen Erfahrungen während eines interkulturellen Lehrerfortbildungsprojekts im ländlichen Haiti wird in dieser Arbeit ein detailliertes Bild der Lebenswelt ausgewählter haitianischer Grundschullehrer/-innen gezeichnet. Insbesondere wird den Fragen nachgegangen, welchen Hindernissen diese Lehrer/-innen in ihrer eigenen Ausbildung begegneten, welche professionellen und sozialen Herausforderungen ihre alltägliche Berufsausübung mit sich bringt und wie ein genaues Verstehen ihres Hintergrunds und ihres Alltags dazu beitragen kann, sowohl die Qualität ihres Unterrichts als auch ihre sozio-ökonomischen Aussichten zu verbessern. Verspätete und unzureichende Ausbildung, ein geringer Verdienst und herausfordernde Arbeitsbedingungen, sowie weitgehende Vernachlässigung durch den Staat kennzeichnen die Realität dieser Lehrer/-innen. Dennoch zeigen sie Elan und vertrauen auf eine bessere Zukunft. In dieser Studie kommen die haitianischen Lehrer/-innen selber zu Wort. Darüber hinaus wird der Prozess der interkulturellen Kommunikation und Reflexion, der mit einem solchen Projekt und einer derartigen Recherche einhergeht dokumentiert. / This study offers a detailed description of selected Haitian primary school teachers’ living and working conditions based on narrative interviews, observations, and common experiences during a cross-cultural in-service teacher training program in rural Haiti. The research is focused on the following questions: What type of obstacles did primary school teachers in rural Haiti encounter in their own education, what professional and social challenges are faced in the daily routines of these teachers, and how can a thorough knowledge of both their backgrounds and the conditions of their current lives help to improve the quality of their teaching as well as their prospects for socio-economic advancement? The reality of these teachers is characterized by a delayed and limited education, low remuneration and challenging working conditions, as well as a more or less complete lack of state support. Nevertheless, they demonstrate vitality and trust in a better future. Central to this study are the Haitian teachers’ viewpoints, but the process of cross-cultural communication and reflection going on during such a program and research is documented as well.

A study of students’ mathematical identity was carried out in February 2009 involving participants from two colleges of education, one in Dublin (Republic of Ireland) and one in Belfast (Northern Ireland). All participants were pre-service primary school teachers in the third year of their B.Ed. programme, having chosen to specialize in mathematics. Data was gathered using a questionnaire (with, mainly, open-ended questions) followed by focus groups, involving the same participants, on each campus. This paper considers how students’ exploration of their mathematical identity led them to deepen their insight into learning and teaching mathematics. Recommendations are made for how the methods used in this research might be beneficial on a larger scale, in different environments.