Prospective teachers’ noticing and mathematical decisions to respond: using technology to approximate practice

Abstract

In recent years, teacher professional noticing has become more prevalent internationally. One common definition to distinguish professional noticing from everyday noticing includes the three interrelated skills of attending, interpreting and deciding to respond. We used qualitative analysis to explore prospective teachers' approximations of practice and decisions to respond. Prospective teachers at four universities (n = 89) utilized one of two technological platforms: GoAnimate and LessonSketch to communicate their pedagogical decision through animations or comic-based depictions in response to watching video of a lesson on fractions. Findings indicate prospective teachers most commonly included teacher moves that: (a) explored what the student(s) had already done or suggested, or (b) ensured that the student(s) understood the problem or had an entry point. Notable differences were found in the teacher decisions based on the different platforms, raising questions about the various modalities that may be used to support prospective teachers to communicate their thinking. Findings provide insight about pedagogical decisions to support students' fractional understanding. We suggest that researchers and practitioners may consider extending the noticing framework to include a fourth skill, enactment, so the professional noticing framework would encompass attending, interpreting, deciding to respond and enacting decisions.