From surface practices to deep conceptually targeted practices for fostering students’ place value understanding: Case study on an out-of-field teacher’s professional growth

Abstract For many out-of-field teachers, limitations in mathematical and pedagogical content knowledge have been identified. However, the ways in which these limitations shape their instructional practices have not been systematically explored. Furthermore, little is known about how out-of-field teachers’ practices can grow through professional development. A qualitative single-case study contributes to reducing these research gaps by comparing teaching practices. These were video-recorded before and after completing a session that provided access to pedagogical content knowledge about key concept elements for place value understanding. The comparison reveals that the teacher’s practices shift from untargeted surface practices to deep conceptually targeted practices. It disentangles how targeting concept elements supports deeper, conceptually focused instruction. Unpacking the background of substantial professional growth can contribute to emphasizing the value of topic-specific professional development opportunities.