Professional Development as a Community of Practice and Its Associated Influence on the Induction of a Beginning Mathematics Teacher

• Main Author: Steele, Savannah O.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2013
• Subjects: professional development; teacher induction; community of practice; Science and Mathematics Education
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3775; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4774&context=etd

This qualitative study analyzes a professional development course and its associated influence on the induction of a beginning mathematics teacher from a sociocultural perspective. Specifically, it examines whether a specific high school mathematics professional development course formed a community of practice through the elements of mutual engagement, joint enterprise, and shared repertoire. A community of practice is an inherently sociocultural framework. The results show how each element was present in the professional development, indicating that a community of practice had formed. Using those three elements of community of practice, the study further analyzes the induction of one first-year teacher, Sarah, who was a participant in the community of practice. Sarah's induction is framed as consisting of her conformance to the school mathematics department accepted by both her colleagues and herself, as well as her transformation of the system. The results of the study demonstrate how each element of the community of practice influences each aspect of Sarah's induction into the mathematics department at her school.