Classroom Practice

An Exploratory Study of the Relation Between Teachers’ Implicit Theories and Teacher Noticing

Despite interest in how students’ implicit theories—their growth and fixed mindsets about their own learning—affect students as learners, relatively little research on mindset has looked at teachers as learners. This study explores elementary teachers’ implicit theories about the malleability of mathematics intelligence and teaching ability. It also examines how implicit theories of learning relate to teacher noticing, a construct that has been linked to teachers’ classroom practice and their students’ learning outcomes.

Author/Presenter

Meg S. Bates

Joseph R. Cimpian

Shereen Oca Beilstein

Cheryl Moran

Kate Curry

Victoria Jay

Genevieve M. Henricks

Michelle Perry

Year
2024
Short Description

Despite interest in how students’ implicit theories—their growth and fixed mindsets about their own learning—affect students as learners, relatively little research on mindset has looked at teachers as learners. This study explores elementary teachers’ implicit theories about the malleability of mathematics intelligence and teaching ability. It also examines how implicit theories of learning relate to teacher noticing, a construct that has been linked to teachers’ classroom practice and their students’ learning outcomes.

Exploring the Noticing of Science Teachers: What Teachers' Notice and Using Video to Capture Teacher Knowledge

Knowing how science teachers develop their professional knowledge has been a challenge. One potential way to determine the professional knowledge of teachers is through videos. In the study described here, the authors recruited 60 elementary and secondary science teachers, showed them one of two 10-min videos, and recorded and analyzed their comments when watching the videos. The coding focused on their noticing of student learning, teacher's teaching, types of teaching practices, and the use of interpretative frames.

Author/Presenter

Julie A. Luft

Yuxi Huang

Harleen Singh

Hatice Ozen-Tasdemir

Joe DeLuca

Shelby Watson

Elizabeth Ayano

Brooke A. Whitworth

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Knowing how science teachers develop their professional knowledge has been a challenge. One potential way to determine the professional knowledge of teachers is through videos. In the study described here, the authors recruited 60 elementary and secondary science teachers, showed them one of two 10-min videos, and recorded and analyzed their comments when watching the videos.

Intersections of Teacher Noticing and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Conceptual Framework to Inform the Design of Teacher Learning

Teacher noticing scholars are just beginning to explore how to support noticing that is responsive to students' cultural resources. The theoretical basis of the teacher noticing literature affords scholars a range of paths for understanding student resources, only some of which are described in the literature. In this article, we offer a conceptual model showing how the theoretical roots related to teacher noticing and responsive teaching (N/RT) are closely aligned with theories foundational to culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP).

Author/Presenter

Melissa J. Luna

Malayna Bernstein

Janet D. K. Walkoe

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Teacher noticing scholars are just beginning to explore how to support noticing that is responsive to students' cultural resources. The theoretical basis of the teacher noticing literature affords scholars a range of paths for understanding student resources, only some of which are described in the literature. In this article, we offer a conceptual model showing how the theoretical roots related to teacher noticing and responsive teaching (N/RT) are closely aligned with theories foundational to culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP).

Refinement of an Instrument Measuring Science Teachers’ Knowledge of Language Through Mixed Method

Teachers must know how to use language to support students in knowledge generation environments that align to the Next Generation Science Standards. To measure this knowledge, this study refines a survey on teachers’ knowledge of language as an epistemic tool. Rasch modelling was used to examine 15 items’ fit statistics and the functioning of a previously-designed questionnaire’s response categories. Cronbach’s alpha reliability was also examined. Additionally, interviews were used to investigate teachers’ interpretations of each item to identify ambiguous items.

Author/Presenter

Chenchen Ding

Catherine Lammert

Gavin W. Fulmer

Brian Hand

Jee K. Suh

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Teachers must know how to use language to support students in knowledge generation environments that align to the Next Generation Science Standards. To measure this knowledge, this study refines a survey on teachers’ knowledge of language as an epistemic tool.

Comparing How College Mathematics Instructors and High-School Teachers Recognize Professional Obligations of Mathematics Teaching when Making Instructional Decisions

This paper investigates how mathematics instructors' recognition of the professional obligations of mathematics teaching varies based on their institutional environment, specifically whether they teach high school or college mathematics. Using an instrument that measures instructors’ recognition of four hypothesized professional obligations, we surveyed 471 US high school mathematics teachers and 239 university mathematics instructors to measure the extent to which they recognized professional obligations when evaluating the appropriateness of certain instructional actions.

Author/Presenter

Inah Ko

Patricio Herbst

Mollee Shultz 

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

This paper investigates how mathematics instructors' recognition of the professional obligations of mathematics teaching varies based on their institutional environment, specifically whether they teach high school or college mathematics.

Classroom-Based STEM Assessment: Contemporary Issues and Perspectives

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Author/Presenter

Christopher J. Harris, Eric Wiebe, Shuchi Grover, James W. Pellegrino, Eric Banilower, Arthur Baroody, Erin Furtak, Ryan “Seth” Jones, Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Okhee Lee, Xiaoming Zhai

Year
2023
Short Description

This report takes stock of what we currently know as well as what we need to know to make classroom assessment maximally beneficial for the teaching and learning of STEM subject matter in K–12 classrooms.

Socio-Scientific Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing In-person and Virtual Science Learning Using Model-Evidence Link Diagrams

Science learning is an important part of the K-12 educational experience, as well as in the lives of students. This study considered students’ science learning as they engaged in the instruction of scientific issues with social relevance. With classroom environments radically changing during the COVID-19 pandemic, our study adapted to teachers and students as they were forced to change from more traditional, in-person instructional settings to virtual, online instruction settings.

Author/Presenter

Nancy Gans

Vivian Zohery

Joshua B. Jaffe

Anissa Ahmed

Luke Kim

Doug Lombardi

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

Science learning is an important part of the K-12 educational experience, as well as in the lives of students. This study considered students’ science learning as they engaged in the instruction of scientific issues with social relevance. With classroom environments radically changing during the COVID-19 pandemic, our study adapted to teachers and students as they were forced to change from more traditional, in-person instructional settings to virtual, online instruction settings.

Exploring the Potential of an Online Suite of Practice-Based Activities for Supporting Preservice Elementary Teachers in Learning How to Facilitate Argumentation-Focused Discussions in Mathematics and Science

This study explored the use of a three-part suite of practice-based activities -- one- and two-player online simulations, an avatar-based simulation, and a virtual teaching simulator—for supporting preservice teachers in learning how to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions in elementary mathematics and science. We share findings from analysis of survey data examining four elementary teacher educators’ perceptions about using these activities within their respective elementary methods courses.

Author/Presenter

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2022
Short Description

This study explored the use of a three-part suite of practice-based activities -- one- and two-player online simulations, an avatar-based simulation, and a virtual teaching simulator—for supporting preservice teachers in learning how to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions in elementary mathematics and science.

Eliciting Learner Knowledge: Enabling Focused Practice Through an Open-Source Online Tool

Eliciting and interpreting students’ ideas are essential skills in teaching, yet pre-service teachers (PSTs) rarely have adequate opportunities to develop these skills. In this study, we examine PSTs’ patterns of discourse and perceived learning through engaging in an interactive digital simulation called Eliciting Learner Knowledge (ELK). ELK is a seven-minute, chat-based virtual role play between a PST playing a “teacher” and a PST playing a “student” where the goal is for the teacher to find out what the student knows about a topic.

Author/Presenter

Griffin Leonard

Jamie N. Mikeska

Pamela S. Lottero-Perdue

Adam V. Maltese

Giancarlo Pereira

Garron Hillaire

Rick Waldron

Rachel Slama

Justin Reich

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2022
Short Description

Eliciting and interpreting students’ ideas are essential skills in teaching, yet pre-service teachers (PSTs) rarely have adequate opportunities to develop these skills. In this study, we examine PSTs’ patterns of discourse and perceived learning through engaging in an interactive digital simulation called Eliciting Learner Knowledge (ELK). ELK is a seven-minute, chat-based virtual role play between a PST playing a “teacher” and a PST playing a “student” where the goal is for the teacher to find out what the student knows about a topic.

“Unnatural How Natural It Was”: Using a Performance Task and Simulated Classroom for Preservice Secondary Teachers to Practice Engaging Student Avatars in Scientific Argumentation

Facilitating discussions is a key approach that science teachers use to engage students in scientific argumentation. However, learning how to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions is an ambitious teaching practice that can be difficult to learn how to do well, especially for preservice teachers (PSTs) who typically have limited opportunities to tryout and refine this teaching practice.

Author/Presenter

Jamie N. Mikeska

Calli Shekell

Jennifer Dix

Pamela S. Lottero-Perdue

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2022
Short Description

Facilitating discussions is a key approach that science teachers use to engage students in scientific argumentation. However, learning how to facilitate argumentation-focused discussions is an ambitious teaching practice that can be difficult to learn how to do well, especially for preservice teachers (PSTs) who typically have limited opportunities to tryout and refine this teaching practice. This study examines secondary PSTs’ perceptions and engagement with a science performance task—used within an online, simulated classroom consisting of five middle school student avatars—to practice this ambitious teaching practice.