Appreciating the Power of Details in Children's Mathematical Thinking

• In Event: Elementary Mathematics Teaching That Is Responsive to Student Learning, Emotions, and Culture

Abstract

Drawing inspiration from work on slow looking, we showcase the power of teachers’ engagement with details in children’s mathematical thinking. We present contrasting cases of two grade 5 teachers who were participating in multiyear professional development to advance their expertise in responsiveness to children’s fraction thinking. We frame our comparison in terms of these teachers’ engagement with details in the instructional practices of noticing children’s thinking and questioning children’s thinking. Examples are drawn from a noticing assessment, classroom observations, and post-observation interviews. This paper contributes to the field’s understanding of teaching that is responsive to children’s thinking by providing specific examples of the ways teachers engage with details in children’s thinking, and related affordances.

Authors

• Victoria R. Jacobs, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Susan B. Empson, University of Missouri - Columbia

• Amy Hewitt, University of Illinois - Springfield

• Heather Lindfors-Navarro, University of Missouri - Columbia