Conceptual Systems Evolution during a Teacher Professional Development Program based on Mathematical Modeling

Given the need to conduct research that informs key elements for enhancing professional development programs in mathematics teaching through modeling, a qualitative and longitudinal investigation was undertaken, grounded in a case study. The study is focused on analyzing the evolution of a mathematics teacher’s conceptual system while immersed in a teacher development program within the theoretical reference of the models and modeling perspective. For this study, a multitiered teacher development program was designed, fostering interactions among students, teachers, and researchers. The program was centered on promoting the evolution of the teacher’s conceptual system through the design, implementation, and evaluation of a model development sequence aimed at supporting the learning of exponential function among first-semester university students. The teacher’s generated conceptual systems were characterized along three dimensions: instructional, mathematical content, and historical. The multidimensional analysis revealed that active involvement in designing and implementing a model development sequence engaged the teacher in iterative refinement processes between sequence design and the dimensions of their conceptual framework. Furthermore, the study concludes that the multitiered approach can serve as a means to promote the evolution of a teacher’s conceptual system.

Conceptual systems; Model Development Sequence; Multitier; Modeling; Teachers’ professional development