Thinking and creativity in learning mathematics teaching

Preparation to teach school mathematics should include developing an understanding of classroom mathematical interactions. The research literature and professional expertise agree that a teacher’s ability to respond to classroom mathematical interactions depends on her understanding of the subject matter within pedagogical situations. As a consequence, teacher education programs try to cultivate the novice teacher’s ability to respond to classroom mathematical interactions by developing the integration of mathematical and pedagogical thinking. This study re-evaluates that commitment, giving attention to current cognitive models of teachers’ integration of knowledge and to practice-based approaches to teacher learning. Unlike previous studies on teachers’ professional knowledge, this research provides a micro-perspective on teachers’ responses to student utterances. Using extended dialogues from the classrooms of two experienced and respected teachers, the study searched for a relationship between the teachers’ mathematical and pedagogical thoughts. Analysis drew attention to a complex dynamic: one of association of mathematical and pedagogical thoughts through the teacher’s perceptual and situational understanding of the dialogue. Clearly, classroom mathematical interactions were found to include metaphoric paraphrasing of what students said, but little integration. This finding highlights the need to understand better teachers’ comprehension of mathematical classroom dialogue from an interactional perspective. At the practical level, the study suggests a greater place in professional development for perceptual mediation of teachers’ understanding of classroom interactions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Secondary and Continuing Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Rosu, Luisa Maria

Contributors dc:contributor

• Stake, Robert E.
• Bruce, Bertram C.
• Witz, Klaus
• Higgins, Christopher R.

• mathematics education
• teacher education
• classroom interactions
• pedagogical content knowledge
• mathematical knowledge for teaching
• teacher learning
• teacher creativity
• knowledge integration
• perceptual knowledge

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2010 Luisa Maria Rosu

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16771

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/16771