Enhancing Professional Learning and Development in the Teaching of Early Childhood Mathematics through Action Research

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore how the kindergarten teacher‟s professional learning and development as engaged in the teaching of early childhood mathematics can be enhanced through the use of action research. The focus is drawn on the understanding of how the emergence of the teacher‟s self-awareness can be identified through the observation-reflection cycles and the understanding itself as such is a critical issue that has not yet clearly addressed in the previous study. On the basis of a collaborative action research approach, a project that contributes to the professional learning and development as engaged by a university researcher and a kindergarten teacher is described. The project has been undertaken in one Hong Kong kindergarten class in school. In this project, multiple sources of data have been elicited for triangulation during the research process. These include school based curriculum guide, teaching plans, teacher journal, interviews, children works and observation of children learning activities. The findings of this research indicate that the enhancement of the teacher‟s professional learning and development grounded in action research perspective will in turn raise her awareness for helping children learn mathematics in early childhood.