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Career
History
It was during my
time as a middle school mathematics teacher with
the New Orleans Public Schools that I developed an
interest in collaborative processes because I
wanted my students to experience mathematical
learning in a more meaningful context. At the
conclusion of my tenure with the New Orleans Public
Schools, my primary education interests were
writing to learn content, problem solving and group
collaboration. In 1991, I became a full-time
graduate student at the University of Illinois at
Champaign-Urbana, focusing my studies in the areas
of mathematics education and curriculum research on
teaching and learning.
After completing
my graduate studies in 1995, I accepted a position
at the University of Kentucky. It was at this
juncture that I conceptualized how "Complex
Instruction" (Cohen, 1994) could provide a context
for the practical application of Vygotskian
theories. A year later, I accepted a position at
Boston College. In my combined role as a learner,
teacher educator, and researcher, it is the
relationship between students' oral thought
processes and written thought processes that has
become the foundation for my inquiry. In my most
recent work, I argue that students' mathematical
understanding is further developed through writing
as a communicative tool while taking advantage of
mediated social practices (Albert, in press). From
this work, I formulated two questions: (1) How do
teachers construct understandings of their
students' mathematical learning by focusing on
their own learning? (2) How does collaborative
activity constitute and transform mathematical
pedagogical practices vis-a-vis teachers' thinking
and actions in learning and understanding
mathematical problem solving?
When I was a
classroom teacher, one of the concerns I had was
the limited opportunity to interact and engage in
collaborative discourse with colleagues. I am
concerned with how to transform learning
environments into highly interactive contexts that
support and assist teachers in developing
understanding of children learning and development.
I believe that placing mathematics teachers in
experiential learning environments will assist them
in the development of a better understanding of
their students' learning processes. The challenge
for me is to link Vygotsky's (1978) ideas with
teachers' practical activities, connecting their
experiences to professional development and to
children learning.
My life
experiences as a learner, teacher, and researcher
have influenced my approach to educational
research. I value my research and my teaching
equally. If these two are done with distinction, in
such a way, that each informs the other, then the
quality of my professional and public work will be
strong in turn.
References
Albert, L. R.
(2000). Outside in, inside out: Seventh-grade
students' mathematical thought processes.
Educational Studies in Mathematics 41, pp.
108-142.
Albert, L. R.
& Jones, D. (1997). Implementing the science
teaching standards through complex instruction: A
case study of two teacher-researchers. School
Science and Mathematics, 97, 283-291.
Albert, L. R.
(1995). The complexities of learning to teach
problem solving: The effects of a writing process
strategy-model on seventh grade students'
mathematical problem solving performance (Doctoral
dissertation, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, 1995). University Microfilms
International, 57 A1529.
Clift, R., &
Albert, L. R. (1998). Early learning and continued
development for teachers. In B. Spodex and O. N.
Saracho (Eds.) Issues in Early Childhood
Educational Research, Yearbook in Early Childhood
Education, V. 7, (pp. 139-155). New York: Teacher
College Press.
Vygotsky, L. S.
(1978). Mind in society: The development of higher
psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University.
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