Participants' Focus in a Learner-Centered Technology-Rich Mathematics Professional Development Program

Abstract

Leaders in professional development have called for more learner-centered professional development opportunities for teachers. These approaches allow teachers to have some choice about the content and pedagogies on which they focus during professional development courses. This paper shares case studies of three participants from InterMath, a learner-centered professional development program for middle grades mathematics teachers. The findings indicate that participants’ backgrounds in both mathematics and technology as well as their goals for the course significantly impacted what they reported learning. The paper concludes with implications for the design and research of learnercentered professional development programs.