Abstract

One of the concerns in mathematics education research is to provide orientations for effective teacher professional development programs. Several studies have proposed principles that should guide such programs. This article analyzes whether these principles of effectiveness are present in a teacher professional development program and examines its impact on the teacher’s teaching practice, using a qualitative methodology to operationalize such principles. The purpose of this study is to identify the principles of effective professional development programs for Mathematics teachers in the guidelines of a Chilean mathematics didactic graduate program. Additionally, the plausible effectiveness of the graduate program was examined through a case study of a teacher who participated in it. Evidence was found for the presence of all principles in the graduate program. Furthermore, from the cognitive demand perspective of the classroom mathematics tasks, before, during, and after the graduate program, the teacher examined in the study evolved significantly in relation to her teaching. Lastly, this article contributes to furthering the study of the relationship between theory and practice by exploring the process of materialization of the principles of professional development programs in the design and validation of effective programs.