Learning to notice and teach English language learners in the elementary mathematics classroom : a case of four teachers

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This study presents data from an intervention study with third grade teachers who participated in professional development to learn to enhance their curriculum materials, instruction, and assessment practices to facilitate the participation of Latino English language learners. In this intervention study third grade students filmed their mathematics classrooms using head-mounted video cameras. The teachers watched video segments on a weekly basis to reflect and identify future instructional enhancements. The Student Cams serve as research tools, but also professional development tools that challenge teachers to examine their practice through a unique perspective. The purpose of this study is to describe what teachers noticed and how that changed as they viewed video clips over a two-year period. The results of this study indicate that the teachers experienced a change in their noticing. While teachers focused on ELLs early in the study, they did not attend to their mathematical thinking. As time evolved, the teachers began to see ELLs' mathematical thinking within episodes in addition to themselves as the teacher. Soon, connections were made in not only who and what the teachers noticed but also in how they noticed. The findings from this study have implications for the design of teacher preparation and professional development.