Connecting the “Real-World” to the Math Classroom: Implementing Professional Development for Mathematical Modeling

This qualitative research study focused on the changes in classroom pedagogy and content of rural mathematics teachers who engaged in a year-long professional development project focused on mathematical modeling. During a 2-week summer institute, teachers solved mathematical modeling problems as learners and then went through an iterative design process of creating, testing and refining lessons for classroom implementation. The lessons were implemented during the academic year. Results of this study indicate that teachers developed a willingness to move from traditional lecture and replication as the main form of pedagogy. Instead they incorporated more group tasks, alternate assessments, and created their own mathematical modeling problems that were relevant to their students’ lives.