PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
Preliminary Research Reports Challenges and Tools in the Facilitation of Combined Professional Development and Research Sessions: The Case of Community College Trigonometry Instructors
Page: 2-335
Facilitation in professional development and research contexts is a delicate craft. In the proposed paper we describe the facilitation of study group sessions among community college trigonometry instructors. The study groups were designed to collect data about instructors’ practical rationality (Herbst, 2006; Herbst & Chazan, 2003). While these sessions took place to fulfill a particular goal and involved a particular population we believe that our facilitation methods can benefit any group in which the facilitator is responsible for managing public reflection. To this end, we describe questioning strategies for facilitation of the sessions that support productive conversations—that is, conversation that support both professional development and research goals. The notion of a productive conversation is developed in the paper.