Page 188 - Children’s mathematical development and learning needs in perspective of teachers’ use of dynamic math interviews

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Chapter 6
The second research question also concerned the extent to which dynamic math interviews promoted the identification of children’s specific math learning needs and this information transferred to teachers’ actual mathematics teaching and thereby enhanced their mathematical knowledge for teaching and mathematics teaching self- efficacy? The expectation was that the use of dynamic math interviews would allow the teacher to obtain an informed view of a child’s understanding of mathematics and identify the child’s math learning needs, on the one hand, and that this information would provide input for improved teaching, on the other hand (Allsopp et al., 2008; Carney et al., 2016). This was indeed found to be the case (Chapter 4).
The teachers in the present research clearly benefitted from the input provided by dynamic math interviews and put this information into daily teaching practice to provide more effective and adapted mathematics lessons. After training on the conduct of dynamic math interviews, activated learning was used more often; more differentiated and adapted lessons and general teaching strategies were employed; and more varied and adapted math-specific teaching strategies were used. No effects were found, however, for less advanced teaching behaviors that included the creation a safe but stimulating learning climate, efficient classroom management, and clarity of instruction. A dynamic classroom context that includes children with varying math learning needs nevertheless calls upon more advanced teacher competencies (Forgasz & Cheeseman, 2015; Porter et al., 2000). Teachers who are better able to assess children’s mathematical knowledge and skills but also children’s underlying thinking and planning can provide better adapted instruction and support (Hoth et al., 2016; Ketterlin-Geller & Yovanoff, 2009). And this was clearly found to be the case in the present research.
Teachers’ perceptions of their mathematical knowledge for teaching improved with the professional development program on the use of dynamic math interviews and thereby their mathematics teaching self-efficacy as well. Beliefs and knowledge may interact to influence mathematics teaching behavior (Charalambous, 2015; Künsting et al., 2016; Wilkins, 2008). These findings are in keeping with other findings showing the mathematical knowledge for teaching and