Supporting teachers to see and treat students as capable of authentic mathematics: An examination of the facilitation of school-embedded professional learning

Hannah Nieman

My dissertation examines how the design and facilitation of school-embedded professional learning relate to teachers' narratives about students' mathematical capabilities and their instructional decisions in relation to particular students. Pervasive discourses about who is and is not capable of engaging in mathematics shape teachers' instruction and therefore the opportunities students ? especially students from historically marginalized communities ? have to engage in mathematics. Narratives suggest, for example, that there is a racial hierarchy of ability with respect to mathematics or that poor children of color lack the ability to engage in mathematical practices such as modeling and abstraction. Because these harmful discourses are embedded in the systems surrounding classrooms, it is crucial that teachers engage in disrupting them collectively, in their daily work. Research indicates that school-embedded professional learning can support productive, shared discourses among groups of teachers about their students' mathematical capabilities. However, there has been minimal attention to the design and facilitation of professional learning experiences that might support such development. In response, I am conducting a qualitative case study of a system of school-embedded professional learning in a middle school, which is a part of a broader partnership between universities and school districts. Data include observations of professional learning events, interviews with teachers, observations of facilitators' planning for professional learning, and interviews with facilitators. The findings of my research will generate theory regarding the design and facilitation of professional learning in which teachers are supported to see and treat students as mathematically capable.

About Hannah Nieman

Hannah Nieman is a doctoral candidate in Teacher Quality & Teacher Education at the University of Washington, Seattle with a focus on Mathematics Education. Her research explores how systems of professional learning can be designed and facilitated to support meaningful teacher learning. She specifically investigates how professional learning can be designed and leveraged to disrupt systemic, harmful discourses about the mathematical capabilities of students ? especially students from historically marginalized communities. Hannah's current research is a part of a broader set of partnerships between universities and practitioners, including mathematics teachers, instructional coaches, principals, and district leaders. She sees collaboration between researchers and practitioners as central to improving mathematics teaching and learning. Hannah previously taught high school mathematics at an engineering-focused high school and has worked as an elementary and secondary mathematics teacher educator. She holds an M.Ed. in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Washington and a B.S. in Industrial & Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech.