Search results for: Van Es Elizabeth A.

In this study, the authors explore whether learning to analyze teaching in the context of Learning to Learn from Teaching (LLfT) course influenced secondary preservice teachers’ classroom instruction. The findings show that preservice teachers who systematically analyze teaching can also begin to enact practices to enable them to focus more closely on student thinking during instruction. In particular, they created space during instruction for student thinking to become visible and available for the class to consider, they attended to and took up noteworthy student ideas, and they pursued student ideas.Comparing the two cohorts, the authors observed that the preservice teachers who enrolled to the course, engaged in more student-centered practices compared with a cohort of candidates who did not participate in the course - making space for student thinking and pursuing student thinking.

The study examines the use of video clips from teachers’ own classrooms as a resource for investigating student mathematical thinking. Three dimensions for characterizing video clips of student mathematical thinking are introduced: the extent to which a clip provides windows into student thinking, the depth of thinking shown, and the clarity of the thinking. 26 video clips were rated as being low, medium, or high on each dimension. The analysis suggests that the relationship between the video clip dimensions is most important in predicting whether a video clip will support in-depth conversations of student thinking on the part of teachers.