Enhancing mathematics discussions: exploring the impact of situating professional development around a summer mathematics program for children

Mathematics discussions are central for both teaching practice and student engagement with mathematics, though modal teaching practice in many countries often does not include discussion-leading. There has been a press for professional development that increases teachers’ use of discussion-leading in mathematics. This paper examines the impact of two key components of an intensive professional development on practicing teachers’ mathematics discussion-leading practice: live observation and practice-focused learning sessions. A tool for examining specific discussion-leading moves was used to measure change in teachers’ practice as observed through submitted video recordings of mathematics discussions. Participants included 44 teachers from three school districts who submitted a total of 255 videos across the study. The findings show that both key components of the professional development positively impacted teaching practice but had differential impacts on participating groups. We explore factors that could contribute to these differential outcomes.