Exploring Secondary Mathematics Teachers’ Identities With Photo-Elicitation Interviews

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Abstract

How do mathematics teachers see themselves? Traditional structures situate mathematics teachers as the product of either their knowledge or beliefs. But the construct of teacher identity–how teachers rectify their professional and personal lives–is equally important in understanding the intricacies of how one teaches mathematics. This study investigates these identities of six high school algebra teachers through a method called Photo-Elicitation Interview (PEI). Participants capture and choose photographs of their world, and then present each one during an interview to tell stories of who they are and how they see themselves. By providing agency for teachers to create and own these windows into their world, the participant acts as tour guide while the researcher acts as tourist.

Author

• Theodore Chao, Harvard University