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Abstract
The RE4MUL8 Project involved the creation of an online/mobile resource for Intermediate Division (Grade 7 and 8) teachers of mathematics. This resource showcases video documentaries of seven key mathematics topic lessons (fractions, integers, proportional reasoning, composite shapes and solids, solving equations, and, patterning and algebraic thinking), as delivered by seven teachers in Ontario, Canada who were nominated by their respective District School Boards as being, or becoming, highly effective practitioners in the area of reform-based mathematics education. As part of a qualitative case study research design, these teachers, often along with their math coordinators, were then interviewed following the lesson, and shared reflections on the lesson itself and, more generally, on their ongoing journey towards reform-based mathematics teaching. This paper reports on three major themes that emerged from these discussions, namely, problem-based learning, the reality and necessity of ‘messy time’ transition to reform-based pedagogy, and, balancing instructional planning and practices.
Funding
This work was supported by a Schulich School of Education STEM Initiatives Research Grant.
Notes
1. Within the Ontario Curriculum: Mathematics, Revised (2005–07), the following seven core ‘Mathematical Process’ expectations are highlighted: problem solving, reasoning and proving, reflecting, selecting tools and computational strategies, connecting, representing, and communicating.
2. I use the purposefully use the term ‘teachers of mathematics’ rather than ‘mathematics teachers,’ with the idea of distinguishing elementary non-math specialists (i.e. no/little undergraduate experience in mathematics) from math specialist teachers. Teachers of mathematics are required to teach this subject among many others.