skip to main content


Title: Teachers’ responses to instances of student mathematical thinking with varied potential to support student learning
Teacher responses to student mathematical thinking (SMT) matter because the way in which teachers respond affects student learning. Although studies have provided important insights into the nature of teacher responses, little is known about the extent to which these responses take into account the potential of the instance of SMT to support learning. This study investigated teachers’ responses to a common set of instances of SMT with varied potential to support students’ mathematical learning, as well as the productivity of such responses. To examine variations in responses in relation to the mathematical potential of the SMT to which they are responding, we coded teacher responses to instances of SMT in a scenario-based interview. We did so using a scheme that analyzes who interacts with the thinking (Actor), what they are given the opportunity to do in those interactions (Action), and how the teacher response relates to the actions and ideas in the contributed SMT (Recognition). The study found that teachers tended to direct responses to the student who had shared the thinking, use a small subset of actions, and explicitly incorporate students’ actions and ideas. To assess the productivity of teacher responses, we first theorized the alignment of different aspects of teacher responses with our vision of responsive teaching. We then used the data to analyze the extent to which specific aspects of teacher responses were more or less productive in particular circumstances. We discuss these circumstances and the implications of the findings for teachers, professional developers, and researchers.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1720566 1720410 1720613
NSF-PAR ID:
10218001
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Mathematics Education Research Journal
ISSN:
1033-2170
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. We investigate teachers’ initial in-the-moment responses to instances of high-potential student mathematical thinking (SMT) during whole-class discussion to understand what it means to productively incorporate SMT into instruction. Teachers’ initial responses were coded using the Teacher Response Coding scheme, which disentangles the teacher action, who the response is directed to, and the degree to which the SMT is honored. We found that teachers incorporated students’ actions and ideas in their response, but tended to address the SMT themselves and did not fully take advantage of the SMT. We consider the productivity of teachers’ initial responses in relation to principles of productive use of SMT and compare the results to those of a previous study of teachers’ hypothetical initial responses to SMT in an interview setting. 
    more » « less
  2. We investigate teachers’ initial in-the-moment responses to instances of high-potential student mathematical thinking (SMT) during whole class discussion to understand what it means to productively incorporate SMT into instruction. Teachers’ initial responses were coded using the Teacher Response Coding scheme, which disentangles the teacher action, who the response is directed to, and the degree to which the SMT is honored. We found that teachers incorporated students’ actions and ideas in their response, but tended to address the SMT themselves and did not fully take advantage of the SMT. We consider the productivity of teachers’ initial responses in relation to principles of productive use of SMT and compare the results to those of a previous study of teachers’ hypothetical initial responses to SMT in an interview setting. 
    more » « less
  3. We investigate teachers’ initial in-the-moment responses to instances of high-potential student mathematical thinking (SMT) during whole class discussion to understand what it means to productively incorporate SMT into instruction. Teachers’ initial responses were coded using the Teacher Response Coding scheme, which disentangles the teacher action, who the response is directed to, and the degree to which the SMT is honored. We found that teachers incorporated students’ actions and ideas in their response, but tended to address the SMT themselves and did not fully take advantage of the SMT. We consider the productivity of teachers’ initial responses in relation to principles of productive use of SMT and compare the results to those of a previous study of teachers’ hypothetical initial responses to SMT in an interview setting. 
    more » « less
  4. We investigated teachers’ responses to a common set of varied-potential instances of student mathematical thinking to better understand how a teacher can shape meaningful mathematical discourse. Teacher responses were coded using a scheme that both disentangles and coordinates the teacher move, who it is directed to, and the degree to which student thinking is honored. Teachers tended to direct responses to the same student, use a limited number of moves, and explicitly incorporate students’ thinking. We consider the productivity of teacher responses in relation to frameworks related to the productive use of student mathematical thinking. 
    more » « less
  5. We investigated teachers’ responses to a common set of varied-potential instances of student mathematical thinking to better understand how a teacher can shape meaningful mathematical discourse. Teacher responses were coded using a scheme that both disentangles and coordinates the teacher move, who it is directed to, and the degree to which student thinking is honored. Teachers tended to direct responses to the same student, use a limited number of moves, and explicitly incorporate students’ thinking. We consider the productivity of teacher responses in relation to frameworks related to the productive use of student mathematical thinking. 
    more » « less