‘Things haven’t gone the way I thought they’d go’: secondary mathematics teachers talk about trialling a problem-solving pedagogy

Abstract

To gain insights into teachers’ professional growth and identities over time, researchers have pointed to the importance of investigating the mechanisms that shape teachers’ actions and reactions. This study of 10 practising secondary mathematics teachers drew on a theoretical framing of narrative-defined identities and four dimensions of student engagement to explore their professional learning experiences in response to their school’s initiative to incorporate student-centred problem solving. Four identities drawn from their collected narratives about trialling the ‘teaching-through-problem-solving’ approach for more a year are shared: Teacher as performer, inspirer, trouble-shooter, and tinkerer. Overall, the teachers reflected on the surprising unpredictability of their students’ reactions. They shared stories of high teacher enjoyment from intriguing their students, pleasant surprise from seeing unexpected cognitive and social engagement, and confusing disappointment from seeing unexpected difficulties and disengagement. Teachers’ experiences of facilitating class discussions using student sharing of solutions were considerably diverse. Some challenges for schools and implications for professional learning facilitators in the context of teachers being asked to make such pedagogical shifts are discussed.