Primary school teacher’s noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in problem solving

Abstract

Professional noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in problem solving involves the identification of noteworthy mathematical ideas of students’ mathematical thinking and its interpretation to make decisions in the teaching of mathematics. The goal of this study is to begin to characterize pre-service primary school teachers’ noticing of students’ mathematical thinking when students solve tasks that involve proportional and non-proportional reasoning. From the analysis of how pre-service primary school teachers notice students’ mathematical thinking, we have identified an initial framework with four levels of development. This framework indicates a possible trajectory in the development of primary teachers’ professional noticing.