MAKING NON ROUTINE PROBLEM SOLVING A MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM ROUTINE: A LESSON STUDY GROUP FOR BEGINNING SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS*

Resumo

This paper presents and discusses data from a lesson study group for beginning secondary mathematics teachers. Participants in this group work in schools attended by low socio-economic status students from a wide range of ethnic, racial, and linguistic backgrounds. The lesson study group was a professional development and research initiative that engaged beginning teachers in framing, solving, and planning lessons around non-routine mathematics problems (NRMP) while exploring how these experiences impacted participant teachers’ classroom practices. Included in the lesson study activities were: framing, solving, and discussing NRMP, analyzing student work, searching for NRMP in selected mathematics assessments, and placing NRMP within mandated pacing calendars and curricula. The paper begins with an overview of the lesson study context. We then discuss our framework for linking NRMP to mathematics curriculum planning and classroom instruction. Next we share data generated during three lesson study sessions. The first session concerned a sequence of non-routine problems involving paper folding; the second session focused on participant teachers reporting on their adaptation and classroom try out of paper folding problems; and the last one involved placing an assorted collection of NRMP within the secondary mathematics curriculum and aligning them with current standards. We conclude by reflecting on the challenges of making non routine mathematics problem solving a routine feature in beginning teachers’ classrooms and discuss implications for teacher professional development.