Noticing Home Mathematical Practices Yields Robust Opportunities for Participation

• In Event: Noticing Practices of Teachers and Students in Equitable Mathematics Classrooms

Abstract

Recognizing that cultural histories and contexts vary among families from diverse economic, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds, we suggest that instruction that connects home and school experiences and builds on children’s emerging mathematical knowledge is particularly important in children’s early years when they are preparing for and first entering school. We describe how primary teachers (N=24) who participated in Professional Development for culturally and developmentally responsive early mathematics noticed the multiple resources children draw on for their mathematics learning. We focus in particular on those exceptional teachers who created mathematics learning environments that supported children from non-dominant ethnic and linguistic backgrounds to the bridge home and school practices that the teachers noticed.

We used Jacobs, Lamb, & Philipp’s (2010) framework for “professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking” (p. 99) to code transcriptions of audiotape from PD seminar discussions, interviews, teachers’ written reflections, and classroom observations to analyze how teachers attended to, interpreted, and decided how to respond to mathematics learning. We then recoded that data to identify the depth to which teachers noticed and connected instruction to resources children brought from home.

We found that teachers who were better at noticing children’s multiple mathematical resources planned for classroom activities based on children’s home and community funds of knowledge and mathematical understanding. Thus, were able to provide robust learning opportunities for children to engage in rich mathematics. This finding offers an important implication for mathematics teacher education. Although we assert that teachers must recognize the wealth of mathematical practices and resources children bring, if teachers cannot successfully draw on those resources in their instruction, children will continue to experience differential opportunities to learn mathematics. Further, as mathematics teacher educators, we need to identify ways to support teachers in identifying ways to draw on all of children’s mathematical resources when planning instruction.

Author

• Anita A. Wager, University of Wisconsin