Failing to Capitalise on Contingent Events: An Investigation into a Secondary Mathematics Teacher’s Responses to Triggers of Contingency During the Teaching of Algebra
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract Responding constructively to unexpected events during a lesson is a particularly challenging facet of teaching. This study aimed to investigate how a secondary school mathematics teacher responded to learners’ unexpected or unplanned offers in the teaching of algebra. A total of three sequential lessons were video recorded and the quality of the teacher’s responses to unexpected learner questions was analysed. The first author then conducted a video-stimulated recall (VSR) interview with the teacher to understand her rationale and decision making in response to the contingent incidents identified within her lessons. The results indicate that the teacher did acknowledge unexpected learners’ offers but failed to probe or interrogate the learners’ thinking “in the moment.” Another key finding was that the reflection-oriented questions during the VSR interview proved fruitful in assisting the teacher to reflect on how she responded to unexpected learners’ offers. We note that the teacher was able to articulate a justification for her actions associated with “deliberate reflection” and that she was able to envisage alternatives to how she responded to unplanned moments related to “critical reflection.” The teacher acknowledged the lesson’s potential limitations after responding to reflection-orientated questions during the VSR interview.
期刊介绍:
Africa Education Review is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal that seeks the submission of unpublished articles on current educational issues. It encourages debate on theory, policy and practice on a wide range of topics that represent a variety of disciplines, interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary and transdisciplinary interests on international and global scale. The journal therefore welcomes contributions from associated disciplines including sociology, psychology and economics. Africa Education Review is interested in stimulating scholarly and intellectual debate on education in general, and higher education in particular on a global arena. What is of particular interest to the journal are manuscripts that seek to contribute to the challenges and issues facing primary and secondary in general, and higher education on the African continent and in the global contexts in particular. The journal welcomes contributions based on sound theoretical framework relating to policy issues and practice on the various aspects of higher education.