From Exploration to Facilitation: The Affective Journeys of High School Math Teachers Adopting Project-Based Learning

Abstract

Project-based learning (PBL) holds significant promise as a student-centered instructional approach in secondary mathematics, yet teachers’ capacity to leverage it for diverse learners is deeply shaped by their affective experiences during implementation. This narrative inquiry examines the affective journeys of three high school mathematics teachers as they adopted PBL in classrooms characterized by varied student readiness levels and engagement profiles. We document teachers’ affective journeys as they experience initial PBL awareness, participate in active experimentation, and work toward forming emerging commitments and facilitator identities. Analysis of focus groups and interviews reveals three affective tensions: comfort versus transformative reflection, epistemic ideals versus ontological school realities, and career risk versus identity change. The findings demonstrate how teachers can navigate iterative methods of trial, how teacher educators can better support future teachers’ use of student-centered pedagogies, and how administrators can be aware of the impact that teacher affect can have on performance and pedagogy. Implications address how this broader education community can support differentiated, inquiry-based mathematics instruction. This support can be advanced through scope-controlled projects, micro-evidence portfolios, and incremental adoption pathways. These approaches honor teachers’ emotional labor while supporting their sustained use of student-centered learning strategies intended to broaden opportunities for participation and learning in mathematics classrooms.