Integrating Socio-Political Frameworks for Noticing to Support Equitable Transformation in College Mathematics

• In Event: Noticing and Responding to Student Thinking for Equity

Abstract

Objective
College mathematics classrooms persist as harmful spaces for marginalized students (Leyva et al., 2021). We illustrate how equity and sociopolitical frameworks for teacher noticing can inform the design of professional development (PD) for college mathematics instructional teams to support the development of asset-based and anti-deficit noticing and contribute to the disruption of harmful instructional practices that are reproduced regularly within upper division mathematics.

Theoretical framework
PD on teacher noticing in K-12 settings has shown to be impactful for instructional change (Authors, 2022b) and student outcomes (Authors, 2012a). Research on teacher noticing routinely emphasizes cognitive aspects of noticing, including attending to student thinking, interpreting the meaning of students’ discourse and responding in service of disciplinary understanding (Authors, 2021a; Jacobs et al., 2010). Recent research considers sociocultural perspectives on noticing, such as attending to the histories and identities of students (Authors, 2022a) and the sociopolitical narratives that frame noticing (Louie et al., 2021). We draw from both perspectives on noticing to design PD for college level instructional teams.

Methods and data sources
Using a design-based implementation research approach (Fishman et al., 2013), we created a video-based noticing curriculum that was implemented in two settings: in-person and asynchronous online (see Figure 1). Participants included three mathematics professors, four graduate teaching assistants and nine undergraduate learning assistants from a large research university on the West Coast of the United States. Data sources include video recordings of four in-person PD sessions, written responses from the asynchronous modules, transcripts from focus-group interviews, and written responses to pre- and post- noticing tasks. We employed qualitative analysis of participants' discourse in different settings to decompose their noticing into attending, interpreting and responding practices. We also allowed for emergent codes to identify equity-oriented perspectives for instructional practices.



Results
PD began with noticing mathematical aspects of students’ thinking, allowing us to establish norms around engaging with clips. We then transitioned to focus on noticing for equity. Our analysis illustrates how participants expanded their noticing to attend to student participation patterns. They reflected on the cultural frames that inform their noticing which shifted their interpretation of student engagement. In addition, they identified moments when their actions did not build on students’ assets.

Participant discourse displayed dispositions for the enactment of equitable instructional practices. For example, participants recognized student collaboration as a productive resource for learning. They expanded their view of students to recognize their full lives and identities. They showed an increased awareness of how instructor-student interactions can reproduce gender and racial hierarchies, moving to frame performance beyond innate ability.

Significance
Findings illustrate how the curriculum design created powerful spaces for instructional teams to reflect on ubiquitous instructional practices and introduce changes that promote inclusiveness. Curriculum activities provided opportunities to develop noticing of student thinking while also promoting noticing of students beyond their mathematical identities. Leveraging existing work on teacher noticing, we contribute to the limited research on noticing in college settings.

Authors

• Christina Kimmerling, University of California - Irvine

• Patricia Fuentes Acevedo, University of California - Irvine

• Rossella Santagata, University of California - Irvine

• Alessandra Pantano, University of California - Irvine

• Roberto Pelayo, University of California - Irvine