He also observed her teach. Then they talked and planned together every day. Obviously, such an action-research model, although fascinating in what it can reveal about a teacher's ability to change her classroom practice, is designed for research, not practical, schoolwide implementation. For clues as to how change might spread from classroom to classroom, we can turn to evaluation studies of the Interactive Mathematics Program conducted by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These studies reveal a lot about how teachers learn new pedagogy and practice.
Teachers involved in the IMP cover the spectrum.
Their mathematics teaching experience ranges from two to 40 years. This turn to peers for professional counsel is especially noteworthy when one realizes that 74 percent of IMP teachers have had no prior experience with team teaching. You need to have a colleague who is also willing to take that risk. I know if I have a problem, there's someone I can ask for help who knows intimately what I'm talking about. When IMP teachers are asked to name their most valuable professional development experiences, they name communicating with other IMP teachers.