Page 116 - Children’s mathematical development and learning needs in perspective of teachers’ use of dynamic math interviews

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Chapter 4
greater responsibility for children’ successes and failures and made more effort to support low-achieving children. A lower sense of efficacy beliefs had a negative impact.
With reference to mathematical knowledge for teaching, a distinction can be made between pedagogical content knowledge (knowledge of content and student, and knowledge of content and teaching, e.g., teacher’s ability to select and use representations and models) and subject matter knowledge (e.g., understanding concepts, skills, symbolism, procedures and student errors). A subdomain of subject matter knowledge is specialized content knowledge specific to teaching mathematics, including selecting good examples, representations, models and explanations for adapting instruction and asking questions to elicit children’s mathematical thinking (Ball et al., 2008). Teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching has been related to the quality of mathematics teaching -- especially instructional quality (Hill et al., 2008). However, other research has suggested that this relationship is nuanced rather than clear cut. According to Wilkins (2008), many variables appear to play a role in mathematics teaching practice, including beliefs and attitudes towards teaching mathematics. Charalambous (2015) found that mathematical knowledge for teaching and teachers’ beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics interact to inform teaching behavior. In other words, mathematical knowledge for teaching is not enough to ensure successful teaching.
To summarize, research established three key components of effective mathematics teaching and these factors can help teachers better meet individual children’s math learning needs. To successfully identify these needs and adapt to them, teachers require insight into children’s mathematics performance, thinking, understanding, emotions and beliefs. Dynamic math interviews may be an effective way to help gain these necessary insights. However, the ability to conduct dynamic math interviews requires specific knowledge and skills. A teacher professional development program that encourages the development of necessary competencies could help (Heck et al., 2019).