The underlying beliefs in Pirkko’s narrative about implementing collaborative learning in mathematics - ‘my job is to give individual instruction’

Abstract

Many teachers resist adopting collaborative learning despite its proven benefits. Beliefs play a role in this resistance, but exactly how they do so has yet to be understood. This narrative study provides a comprehensive analysis of one resisting teacher’s ambivalent perceptions and underlying beliefs about implementing a collaborative approach to learning mathematics in a Finnish seventh-grade class. Our results reveal how the seemingly noble goal of guiding students individually and associated beliefs may inhibit teachers from adopting collaborative learning even after successfully implementing it.