Connecting Research to Practice: In the Spring of 2019 and Summer of 2019, we designed a professional development course focused on developing teachers’ mathematics teaching practices. Using NCTM’s Principles to Action (2014), we designed the Spring course as a 15 week course. We spend each week focused on a teaching practice where teachers selected a rich task and vetted tasks in peer groups. On alternating weeks, teachers did not meet in class. Instead they enacted the vetted task and brought intentionality in one’s practice and video taped and posted about 5 minutes focused on one of the practices to share with their peers. With the vignette, the teacher and peers annotated and marked instances of the teacher enacting the teaching practices. The peer coaches validated and encouraged growth as the teacher opened up his or her practice. Meanwhile, the teacher developed what we called “pedagogical courage” to continue to try enhancing his/her practice.
