A teacher’s noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in action

Overview & Synopsis

This case study examined one middle school mathematics teacher’s noticing students’ mathematical thinking while she taught quadrilaterals. The video clips obtained by the teacher through a portable camera and her reflections on them after each lesson comprised the data. The analysis indicated that although the teacher attended to various elements in the classroom, such as student characteristics or discourse, she mainly focused on student thinking. She also presented productive interpretations of student thinking; however, there were plenty of moments where the teacher provided only descriptive or evaluative comments. The findings showed that her interpretation was generally rich when her attention was on students’ correct answers. The possible reasons for these results were discussed.