Continuing professional development of mathematics teachers in Singapore

Continuing professional development of mathematics teachers in Singapore

Berinderjeet Kaur berinderjeet.kaur@nie.edu.sg National Institute of Education
Summary: 
Continuing professional development (CPD) of mathematics teachers may take several forms. Some of these involve merely the dissemination of knowledge by experts while others involve teachers in creating knowledge for and through practice. Research has shown that effective CPD for mathematics teachers involve experimenting in their classrooms and reporting back to a group, working collaboratively with fellow teachers, having time away from school to think and discuss common issues they faced in their classrooms and in addition to the pedagogical aspects of their deliberation also doing some mathematics. This paper presents a form of CPD that exemplify a shift of the centre of gravity for CPD from the “supply-side,” “offline” forms of knowledge transmission by professional development providers, such as University academics, to “demand-side,” “online” in-situ forms of knowledge creation by teachers. It involves a hybrid one that integrates the “training model of PD” with sustained support for mathematics teachers to integrate knowledge gained from the PD into their classroom practice. Here CPD is nestled in the classrooms of the teachers, and addresses their needs. The three phases of the CPD, namely: Learn (Acquisition and co-construction of knowledge), Apply (integrate new knowledge into classroom practice) and Teach (develop fellow teachers nationally and/or internationally) appear to make the engagement of teachers in CPD holistic.
Keywords: 
Continuing professional development
hybrid model
mathematics teachers
teacher agency
teachers’ voice.
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