Mathematics Graduate Student Instructor Observation Protocol (GSIOP): Development and Validation Study

Abstract

This paper presents the development and validation of the 17-item mathematics Graduate Student Instructor Observation Protocol (GSIOP) at two universities. The development of this instrument attended to some unique needs of novice undergraduate mathematics instructors while building on an existing instrument that focused on classroom interactions particularly relevant for students' development of conceptual understanding, called the Mathematical Classroom Observation Protocol for Practices (MCOP 2). Instrument validation involved content input from mathematics education researchers and upper-level mathematics graduate student instructors at two universities, internal consistency analysis, interrater reliability analysis, and structure analyses via scree plot analysis and exploratory factor analysis. A Cronbach-Alpha level of 0.868 illustrated a viable level for internal consistency. Crosstabulation and correlations illustrate high level of interrater reliability for all but one item, and high levels across all subsections. Collaborating a scree plot with the exploratory factor analysis illustrated three critical groupings aligning with the factors from the MCOP 2 (student engagement and teacher facilitation) while adding a third factor, lesson design practices. Taken collectively, these results indicate that the GSIOP measures the degree to which instructors' and students' actions in undergraduate mathematics classrooms align with practices recommended by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) using a three-factor structure of teacher facilitation, student engagement, and design practices.

Dimensions for Development and Implementation of Active Learning in Higher Education

“…To support college instructors' adoption or adaptation of AL strategies, the incorporation of a mentoring structure, whereby instructors with experiences or training actively support others' use of AL strategies, is one way to address potential barriers. For example, mathematics education researchers have recently implemented and sustained peer-mentoring programs in mathematics and statistics departments in universities in the U.S. [38,39]. In one peer-mentoring program, for instance, graduate student instructors who are experienced and effective at using AL strategies in undergraduate mathematics and statistics instruction attend a semester-long training to become peer mentors [40].…”

“…Additionally, the mentor observes each novice approximately three times a semester for two semesters because changing one's beliefs, attitudes, and/or dispositions requires more than one semester [41]. During these observations, the mentor uses the Graduate Student Instructor Observation Protocol (GSIOP) [38]. This GSIOP draws from [15] by considering lesson design practices, teacher facilitation, and classroom practices that promote student engagement.…”

College mathematics instructor professional development providers: Who are they?

“…State and national funding agencies have an interest in research and development related to Providers. In addition to funding the CoMInDS project, the NSF has funded peer‐mentoring programs for novice instructors (Rogers et al, 2017), larger scale research and development of professional learning for college teaching through the Student Engagement in Mathematics through an Institutional Network for Active Learning project (SEMINAL; Gobstein, 2016), and a project with regional hubs exploring the development of graduate teaching assistants using equity‐aware and evidence‐based teaching methods (Beisiegel & Pilgrim, 2020). Another recent NSF‐funded project is building on the work of CoMInDS to better understand who Providers are, what they provide, and how best to support them: Improving the Preparation of College Mathematics Instructors to Implement Student‐centered, Inclusive Teaching (Yee & Hauk, 2020).…”

Usage of Information Communication Technologies for Training Prospective Mathematics Teachers in the Context of Dual System of Education in Ukraine

“…The experience of the American teachers regarding the organization of the professional training of the students -future teachers, the priority element of which is practical training, is of interest. On the base of the analysis of the papers [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], it can be stated that practical direction of the training, its functional value, possibility of practical application for the achieving of the teaching goals is a priority in the axiological orientations of the educational system of the United States. The important component of the system of the pedagogical education of the USA, connected with practical training of the future teachers in the condition of school, became the schools of the professional development -innovation establishments created on the base of the partnerships between the teacher training colleges of the university and comprehensive secondary schools of different levels, from primary to higher school [5].…”

“…Application of the computers in the sphere of education resulted in the advent of new generation of information education technologies, which enabled to improve the quality of education, create new means of influence, perform more efficient communication between teachers and students [19]. In the opinion of many specialists [4][5][6][7][8][9]19,24], new information technologies, based on the application of the computing facilities, give the possibility to improve, considerably the efficiency of teaching mathematics and the efficiency of future mathematics teachers training. However, the application of the information communication technologies in education process to realize the efficient training of future mathematics teachers in the conditions of the dual education still requires scientific justification.…”