2013 Conference Proceedings - University of Nevada, Las Vegas

scale was designed to elicit the teachers’ beliefs based on their actions in the classroom andhow the actions impact student learning as well as the factors outside of the teachers’ control.This same scale was given within thirty days of the very first meeting in 2009 and again in thesummer of 2011 at the close of the summer course. The teacher efficacy scale will help tobuild a picture of efficacy growth or lack of growth during the two-year professionaldevelopment time span.Classroom observations used the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP)(MacIsaac, Sawada, Falconer, 2001). The RTOP gives the researcher the opportunity to takea comprehensive snapshot of the classroom learning environment. The protocol has bothqualitative and quantitative sections regarding classroom demographics, interactions, contentand implementation of lessons. Classroom observations were conducted during the springsemester of the first year and throughout the second year.There were 53 participants in the professional development project from 17 publicschool districts and two private schools. The average number of years teaching was 8 yearswith a range of 0 to 24 years. There were 45 females and 8 males. The participants taughtmath and/or science in grades 3 through 12.Mrs. A had been teaching 2 years prior to the beginning of the project. She wascertified through an alternative certification program. She had been an accountant prior tocoming to teaching. She has fewer than 12 hours of college level mathematics courses, butshe has passed current state licensing exams. She taught 7 th grade math in a rural schooldistrict with 53% of the students classified as low socioeconomic status. 48% of the studentsin the district are white, 27% hispanic, and 25% African American. Mrs. A had an average of73 students each year.Mrs. A reported that she applied for the professional development project because shewanted to “learn more ways to be a better teacher.” Initial classroom observations showedthat Mrs. A exhbited a tentativeness in her lessons. She seemed to lack confidence in hercontent knowledge as well as her ability to manage the learning environment in herclassroom. The students were working in groups, but Mrs. A did not facilitate the grouplearning effectively to ensure that all students were on task and learning the material. Ininitial surveys regarding technology use in the classroom, Mrs. A responded that she had “notalent whatsoever” with technology but that she really wanted to use technology in herProceedings of the 40 th Annual Meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning 2013 111