Research behind the Best Evidence Synthesis

Item number
BES014

BES selection
Mathematics BES

Format
Journal article

Title
Inquiry into children's mathematical thinking as a means to teacher change

Author
Steinberg, Ruth M ; Empson, Susan B ; Carpenter, Thomas P

Publisher
Springer

Publishing Year
2004

Source
Journal of mathematics teacher education, v.7 n.3 p.237-267

ISSN
13864416

Subject
Teaching

Descriptors
Teaching ; Mathematics curriculum ; Teaching effectiveness ; Mathematics teaching ; Case studies

Age Focus
Children (5 to 12 years)

Education level
Primary education

Language
English

How to obtain
Ask at your public or university library. If they don’t have it they can borrow it from another library for a small charge.

Abstract
In the context of U.S. and world wide educational reforms that require teachers to understand and respond to student thinking about mathematics in new ways, ongoing learning from practice is a necessity. In this paper we report on this process for one teacher in one especially productive year of learning. This case study documents how Ms. Statz's engagement with children's thinking changed dramatically in a period of only a few months; observations and interviews several years later confirm she sustained this change. Our analysis focuses on the mathematical discussions she had with her students, and suggests this talk with children about their thinking in instruction served both as an index of change, and, in combination with other factors, as a mechanism for change. We identified four phases in Ms. Statz's growth toward practical inquiry, distinguished by her use of interactive talk with children. Motivating the evolution of phases were two sorts of mechanisms: scaffolded examination of her students' thinking; and asking and answering questions about individual students' thinking. Processes for generating and testing knowledge about children's thinking ultimately became integrated into Ms. Statz's instructional practices as she created opportunities for herself, and then students, to hear and respond to children's thinking. (Author)

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The Iterative Best Evidence Synthesis programme (BES) : New Zealand Ministry of Education
http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/themes/BES