2017 MidSchoolMath National Conference

As pedagogies in mathematics education have shifted from children listening to teachers’ ideas about mathematics to teachers’ listening to children’s ideas about mathematics, teachers are called to listen in new ways. They are called to change their pedagogy of listening from listening for the “right” answer to hearing children’s sense-making.

In this session, I share new research from k-8 schools that has informed the development of a framework for guiding teachers’ listening as they facilitate engaging and experiential opportunities for children to develop conceptual understandings of mathematics. Teachers, administrators, and teacher educators can use the Framework for Pedagogical Listening as a tool for evaluating and improving teachers’ listening practices. The framework will encompass how teacher listening relates to students abilities to (1) verbalize their thinking about challenging mathematical ideas (2) persevere through struggle towards understanding (3) reflect upon their own understandings of mathematical concepts and problems, and (4) listen to and reason about classmates’ diverse viewpoints.