Schools-university partnerships for professional development: an impact assessment of the “lesson study” intervention on mathematics teachers in the Free State
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Date
2015-01
Authors
Letloenyane, David Maleho
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
School-university partnerships for the professional development of teachers continue to be
used extensively in South Africa to enhance the quality of teaching and learning, especially in
mathematics. The success of such partnerships in changing teachers’ classroom practices,
however, remains in doubt, in part because very few studies present empirical evidence of the
changes. The partnership trained and encouraged teachers to initiate and participate in schoolbased
professional development initiatives through the formation of communities of practice.
This study assesses the impact of one such partnership, which resulted in perceived changes
in teachers’ instructional practices and curriculum decisions after the intervention.
The partnership assisted mathematics teachers from one district within the Free State
province to re-examine their teaching practices. Using retrospective pre-testing design and
semi-structured interviews, the study established that there were significant differences
between teachers’ pre- and post-test scores, which suggests that there were perceived changes
in teachers’ instructional practices and curriculum decisions after the intervention. The
findings also suggest that collaboration, peer observation and critical reflection assisted
teachers to change and improve their content knowledge, instructional strategies,
understanding of student learning processes and their ability to choose and implement
effective teaching strategies.
The findings suggest that this partnership through the formation of communities of practice
(CoPs) had a positive effect on teachers’ classroom practices. The findings provide some
empirical evidence that partnerships of this nature, between schools and universities, may
prove valuable in attempts to improve the teaching of school mathematics, especially in the
South African context.
Description
Keywords
School-university partnerships, Lesson study, Mathematics teaching, School-based professional development, Communities of practice, Dissertation (M.A. (Higher Education))--University of the Free State, 2015, Mathematics teachers, Mathematics -- Study and teaching, Teachers -- Training of -- South Africa -- Free State, Classroom techniques