Professional development of an early elementary school teacher on the subject of probability

Abstract

This article reports part of a study carried out in the context of continued education in which the participants were mathematics teachers working at the early years of elementary school. We sought to understand the implications of such formative stance in a teacher's professional development, and, in particular, for the teacher Safira. This article is part of an on-going doctoral research that is being carried out by the first author, in which issues related to probability teaching are discussed. Based on a qualitative methodology, the investigation aimed to describe and interpret Safira's participation from data collected on the initial research questionnaire, during the development sessions, in an interview and on observations of video-recorded classes conducted by the teacher. Results were analyzed using theories related to knowledge, reflection, and professional development. It was evidenced that the teacher's professional development was boosted from her participation in the formative process, which contributed to knowledge acquisition and to the development or enhancement of her reflective capacity, thus exerting influence on her planning regarding new teaching situations and on her choice for adequate intervention promoting the students' understanding of the concepts being taught.