Learning Trajectory Based Instruction: Toward A Theory of Teaching

Source: Educational Researcher, 41(5), p. 147-156, June 2012.

In this article, the authors propose a theoretical connection between research on learning and research on teaching through recent research on students’ learning trajectories (LTs).

The authors define learning trajectory based instruction (LTBI) as teaching that uses students’ LTs as the basis for instructional decisions.

The authors 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.

The authors 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.