Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics

Despite the construct of challenge being recognized as an essential element of mathematics instruction, concerns have been raised about whether such approaches benefit students with diverse academic needs. In this article, we focus on the beliefs and instructional practices of teachers teaching stud...

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Main Authors: Janette Bobis, James Russo, Ann Downton, Maggie Feng, Sharyn Livy, Melody McCormick, Peter Sullivan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
Series:Mathematics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/9/6/582
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author Janette Bobis
James Russo
Ann Downton
Maggie Feng
Sharyn Livy
Melody McCormick
Peter Sullivan
author_facet Janette Bobis
James Russo
Ann Downton
Maggie Feng
Sharyn Livy
Melody McCormick
Peter Sullivan
author_sort Janette Bobis
collection DOAJ
description Despite the construct of challenge being recognized as an essential element of mathematics instruction, concerns have been raised about whether such approaches benefit students with diverse academic needs. In this article, we focus on the beliefs and instructional practices of teachers teaching students in the first three years of school (5 to 8 years of age). These teachers participated in professional learning focused on challenging mathematical tasks differentiated through their open-ended design and the use of enabling and extending prompts. The instructional practices are explained using the Theory of Didactical Situations. Questionnaire data from pre-intervention (<i>n</i> = 148) and post-intervention (<i>n</i> = 100) groups of teachers indicated that teachers in the post-intervention group held more negative beliefs than those in the pre-intervention group about the capability of instructional approaches involving a priori grouping of students by performance levels. Interviews with ten teachers from the post-intervention group revealed and characterized the ways teachers employed open-ended tasks with enabling and extending prompts to engage all learners. Findings reveal that teachers knowing their students as individual learners accompanied by knowledge of a range of teaching practices to differentiate instruction are central to engaging all learners.
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spelling doaj.art-c1be2ec638f54357b200d6f2ad1bbaf92023-11-21T09:49:40ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902021-03-019658210.3390/math9060582Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning MathematicsJanette Bobis0James Russo1Ann Downton2Maggie Feng3Sharyn Livy4Melody McCormick5Peter Sullivan6Sydney School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaFaculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaFaculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaSydney School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, AustraliaFaculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaFaculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaFaculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, AustraliaDespite the construct of challenge being recognized as an essential element of mathematics instruction, concerns have been raised about whether such approaches benefit students with diverse academic needs. In this article, we focus on the beliefs and instructional practices of teachers teaching students in the first three years of school (5 to 8 years of age). These teachers participated in professional learning focused on challenging mathematical tasks differentiated through their open-ended design and the use of enabling and extending prompts. The instructional practices are explained using the Theory of Didactical Situations. Questionnaire data from pre-intervention (<i>n</i> = 148) and post-intervention (<i>n</i> = 100) groups of teachers indicated that teachers in the post-intervention group held more negative beliefs than those in the pre-intervention group about the capability of instructional approaches involving a priori grouping of students by performance levels. Interviews with ten teachers from the post-intervention group revealed and characterized the ways teachers employed open-ended tasks with enabling and extending prompts to engage all learners. Findings reveal that teachers knowing their students as individual learners accompanied by knowledge of a range of teaching practices to differentiate instruction are central to engaging all learners.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/9/6/582differentiationchallengestruggledidacticala-didacticalresponsive teaching
spellingShingle Janette Bobis
James Russo
Ann Downton
Maggie Feng
Sharyn Livy
Melody McCormick
Peter Sullivan
Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics
Mathematics
differentiation
challenge
struggle
didactical
a-didactical
responsive teaching
title Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics
title_full Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics
title_fullStr Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics
title_full_unstemmed Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics
title_short Instructional Moves that Increase Chances of Engaging All Students in Learning Mathematics
title_sort instructional moves that increase chances of engaging all students in learning mathematics
topic differentiation
challenge
struggle
didactical
a-didactical
responsive teaching
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/9/6/582
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