Describing expert classroom practice in inquiry-based mathematics and science 

Please click on the pdf icon to access this presentation 

Prof. Janet Ainley, School of Education, University of Leicester, UK

Abstract

Whilst recognising good teaching is generally unproblematic, expert classroom practice continues to defy attempts to at description.  Current policy in teacher education places considerable emphasis on specific features such as lesson planning, but generally fails to provide a vocabulary to discuss less well-defined aspects of what good teachers do which cannot be captured in such plans. I will report on a small-scale pilot study of the classroom practice of experienced teachers of mathematics based on a model which identifies the importance of attentional skills as providing highly contextual knowledge which shapes teachers’ actions in the moment in the midst of the complexity of classroom activity. This study suggests that the ability to recognise where the attention of pupils is focussed plays a key role in teachers’ responses to situations which cannot be pre-planned. Engaging children in an inquiry-based approach to mathematics and science education requires teachers to have the confidence to create open-ended situations in which the trajectories of pupils’ attention cannot be pre-determined. I will provide examples from work with teachers exploring mathematical and scientific inquiry in the topic of flight, within the EU funded Fibonacci Project.

Biography

Janet Ainley is the Director of the School of Education. Janet joined the School as Professor of Education in 2006. Her background is in primary teaching, but she has since had a long career at Warwick Institute of Education as a researcher and teacher educator in mathematics education. Janet has a broad range of interests in mathematics and statistics education, and in the professional practice of teachers. The central theme of Janet's research is how children and teachers make sense of the complexity of classroom activity, particularly in mathematics. This encompasses interests in the construction of meanings, in professional practice and in social and cultural issues. A specific focus of her research is on pedagogic task design, and on the development of theory in this field.

Selected References

Ainley, J. & Luntley, M. (2007) Towards an articulation of expert classroom practice, Teaching and Teacher Education 23(7) 1127-1138.