Learning Trajectory Based Instruction: Toward a Theory of Teaching

In this article, we propose a theoretical connection between research on learning and research on teaching through recent research on students' learning trajectories (LTs). We define learning trajectory based instruction (LTBI) as teaching that uses students' LTs as the basis for instructi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEducational researcher Vol. 41; no. 5; pp. 147 - 156
Main Authors Sztajn, Paola, Confrey, Jere, Wilson, P. Holt, Edgington, Cynthia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.06.2012
American Educational Research Association
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Curricula
Discourse analysis
Educational research
Feedback (Response)
Formative assessment
Formative Evaluation
Learning
Mathematical knowledge
Mathematics
Mathematics Education
Mathematics Instruction
Mathematics Teachers
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Qualitative Research
Task Analysis
Teachers
Teaching
Teaching methods
Trajectories
mathematics education
qualitative research
instructional practices
learning processes/strategies
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Summary:In this article, we propose a theoretical connection between research on learning and research on teaching through recent research on students' learning trajectories (LTs). We define learning trajectory based instruction (LTBI) as teaching that uses students' LTs as the basis for instructional decisions. We use mathematics as the context for our argument, first examining current research on LTs and then examining emerging research on how mathematics teachers use LTs to support their teaching. We consider how LTs provide specificity to four highly used frameworks for examining mathematics teaching, namely mathematical knowledge for teaching, task analysis, discourse facilitation practices, and formative assessment. We contend that by unifying various teaching frameworks around the science of LTs, LTBI begins to define a theory of teaching organized around and grounded in research on student learning. Thus, moving from the accumulation of various frameworks into a reorganization of the frameworks, LTBI provides an integrated explanatory framework for teaching.
ISSN:0013-189X
1935-102X
DOI:10.3102/0013189X12442801