set 2002: no. 2

Cognitively Guided Instruction provides a basis for understanding why a child is able to solve certain problems and not able to solve others. Within a problem-solving environment, interactive processes, involving students’ explanations and justifications of their thinking, support mathematical sense-making and meaning construction. Decisions about what to teach and when to teach it are based on teachers’ knowledge of their students’ understandings.

In-class modelling of teaching practices in mathematics enables the facilitator to take an active role when working with teachers. By situating aspects of this professional development in classrooms, teachers are able to see how they can incorporate the new practices into their existing teaching approaches.