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CASE METHODS AND TEACHER CHANGE: SHIFTING AUTHORITY TO BUILD AUTONOMY

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CASE METHODS AND TEACHER CHANGE: SHIFTING AUTHORITY TO BUILD AUTONOMY

Author: Carne S. Barnett & Pamela A. Tyson

Publication Year: 1993

Abstract

This study investigates how math case methods support teachers' professional development by
shifting their perception of authority from external to internal and collective sources. The primary
data include transcripts of case discussions and interviews, as well as math assessments of
teachers. The findings demonstrate that case discussions provide opportunities for (1) realizing
that capability and wisdom exist within the group, (2) developing a critical stance, and (3)
developing stronger, more refined content and pedagogical content knowledge. Teachers that
capitalize on these opportunities have a richer sense of their own autonomy.
Lisa freely admits that she was a "drill and kill" teacher, never straying far from, the basics in the
sixth grade text book. She blamed her lack of confidence ,on her weak mathematical background
saying, "I never/earned it when! was in school".
Lisa joined case discussions at the insistence of her fellow' teachers, three of whom, had
participated in case discussions the year before. She rarely contributed to the early discussions.
When she finally ventured into the conversations, she asked questions that others might have been
reluctant to ask, such as, "I'm like the kid [in the case], I don't understand why 100% isn't 100", or
"Why doesn't the teacher just tell them how to do it?"
Lisa's confidence and trust grew with each discussion. She began to tap her fellow teachers as
resources for new ideas and materials. Instead of skipping percent this year, as she had always
done previously, she did a six-week unit using the text as a guide supplemented by "real~world" problems and manipulatives. She prepared her unit collaboratively with Elena a sixth grade
bilingual teacher, She even admitted to her students that she did not learn percent until she was an
adult.

Type: Research Paper

CARNE S. BARNETT AND PAMELA A TYSON
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