Collegial teacher meetings as a resource for developing mathematics teaching

The project contributes knowledge about teachers' conditions for collegial reflection for the development of mathematics teaching with the support of mapping assessment materials. The statements teachers make about students' mathematical knowledge when discussing student task solutions are analyzed.

Teachers' collegial discussions are an important resource for developing mathematics teaching and for being able to problematize teaching and learning. Having a clear common starting point for the discussion, and not least starting from students' actions in the mathematics classroom, has proven valuable.

Assessing and mapping students' knowledge have become increasingly important. In Swedish and international policy documents as well as in international research, mathematical knowledge is described as a number of competencies. However, it has proven challenging to assess students' knowledge regarding specific mathematical competencies such as, for example, conceptual understanding or problem-solving skills.

It is therefore proposed that mapping assessments constitute a continuous process of which, for example, collegial discussions are a part. Using assessment mappings of students' competencies as a basis for collegial discussions is therefore reasonable. Such a discussion has the potential to connect assessment with teaching and learning. More knowledge is needed about how collegial meetings can be used to give teachers good conditions to interpret student solutions and mapping results to link this to teaching practice.

With a focus on the description of mathematical knowledge in the form of a number of competencies, it is therefore important to examine how teachers talk about and describe mathematical knowledge.

This is a project in collaboration with the municipality of Härnösand in accordance with the collaboration agreement.

The entire project application can be obtained from the Mid Sweden University diarium via e-mail: registrator@miun.se. Please state the project title when ordering.

Participants from the municipality:
Härnösand municipality: Anette Karlsson, Sara Sjölund, Hampus von Post and Kristina Russell

The project's total funding granted from the collaboration agreements: SEK 743,174, of which the municipality of Härnösand contributes SEK 371,587.