Measuring Elementary Mathematics Teachers’ Noticing: Using Child Study as a Vehicle

This study qualitatively examines teacher noticing among 22 primary teachers who conducted child studies, in which they sought to better capture two students’ mathematical understanding. Noticing students’ mathematical thinking is a key component to better understand student learning and effective teaching. Five levels of teacher noticing were specified for this framework (adapted from the van Es, 2011). The teacher noticing framework ranges from Level 1, general statements or claims about what a student could and could not do, to Level 4, description of detailed evidence, analysis, and discussion of future support that will be provided to students. The authors found teachers on average exhibited Level 2 noticing abilities. This adapted framework may be beneficial in helping teachers notice and understand students’ mathematical thinking, as well as provide teacher educators with a tool with which to use to measure teachers’ noticing abilities.