Teaching a subject requires a teacher to understand its language, epistemology and traditions, and how these characteristics govern what is appropriate for teaching and learning. This research examines how teachers' experiences of mathematics and science subject cultures, including traditions of practice, beliefs, and basic assumptions, influence their secondary school mathematics and science teaching.
Six teachers from two secondary schools were interviewed and their classroom practice observed over a period of eighteen months. The research involved observing and video recording teachers' mathematics and science lessons, then interviewing them about their practice, their views of school mathematics and science, and how they see themselves in relation to these subjects.
Four themes emerged which highlight similarities and differences between the subject cultures of mathematics and science: the nature of curriculum organisation across the two subjects; the role of learning experientially through hands-on experiences; the translation of 'relevance' as a school culture imperative into teachers' conceptions of, and practices in, the subject; and the role of aesthetic understanding in how teachers experience, situate themselves within, and negotiate boundaries between the two subject cultures.
Significant cultural and individual differences were found in what teachers considered to be at the core of their subject teaching. Cultural differences make the subject identifiably mathematics or science. In mathematics, supporting students to move through sequentially organised curriculum content, and the importance placed on mathematics in the school curriculum, led to a Pedagogy of Support. In science, the more topic-based curriculum, and an imperative to foster student interest in science, led to a Pedagogy of Engagement. A school culture imperative to link the subject matter to students' lives was translated differently in mathematics and science.
Individual differences between teachers resulted in a diversity of practices across and within the two schools, particularly with respect to how teachers related practical work to theory. The two schools' different approaches to open-ended problem solving resulted in varying degrees of latitude for teachers to move away from traditional teaching modes. In addition, whether or not teachers had stories to tell that related the subject matter to students' lives influenced their approach to making the subject relevant. Teachers' passions, coherence in their understanding of content and pedagogy, and their identity, were shown to be integral to the way they positioned themselves in relation to the subject, and in shaping their confidence and competence.
Teachers experienced different traditions within the subject cultures. Some traditions perpetuated practices that might be considered 'outdated'. Emerging traditions challenged current practices through innovation and new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. Local traditions developed within the school as expectations for practice. Teachers experienced these different traditions in the process of moving forward from basic assumptions that they saw as characterising the subject, while translating school culture imperatives, and as they developed a sense of self in relation to the subject.
The significance of this research lies in its contribution to improved understanding of the demands associated with subject teaching. Findings relating to the demands associated with negotiating subject boundaries have implications for the support of teachers who are teaching 'out-of-field'. In addition, teachers' experiences of the demands associated with translating school culture imperatives into their subject teaching raise questions about the usefulness of generic descriptions of pedagogy. These findings indicate that teacher and school change processes can be informed by describing subject and individual pedagogies.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/233177 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Darby, Linda Maree, linda.darby@rmit.edu.au |
| Publisher | Deakin University. School of Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.deakin.edu.au/disclaimer.html), Copyright Linda Maree Darby |
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