Improving teachers’ expertise in mathematics instruction through exemplary lesson development

Abstract

This study examined how two selected expert teachers improved their expertise in mathematics instruction through participating in the development of exemplary lessons throughout the years. The main data for this study included the lesson designs at two crucial stages (with relevant video-taped lessons), teachers’ reflection reports, written surveys, and a phone interview. These two case studies showed that the teachers continuously developed their proficiency in the following four aspects: obtaining a better understanding of content knowledge; becoming more skillful in addressing difficult content points; having a more purposeful organization of problem sequences; and developing more comprehensive and feasible instructional objectives. Both teachers appreciated the learning experience from outside experts’ critical feedback, collaborative teaching experiments, self-reflection on teaching, and helping other teachers. They also realized a tension between exemplary lesson development and the reality of examination-driven teaching.