Page 189 - Children’s mathematical development and learning needs in perspective of teachers’ use of dynamic math interviews

mathematics teaching self-efficacy to increase following participation in a professional development program focused on student thinking, problem-solving, and math-specific content knowledge (Carney et al., 2016).
Only limited mathematics learning effects were found for the influence of the conduct of dynamic math interviews with a sample of 19 children showing initially low mathematics achievement. Significant increases were found for the development of arithmetic fluency in the domains of subtraction and multiplication, but no effects for the development of the children’s mathematical problem-solving, their math-related beliefs, or their math-related emotions. The learning of mathematics is obviously a long-term process requiring a solid foundation and extended practice (Ball et al., 2008; Lester, 2013). In the present research, the teachers conducted several interviews but only one interview per child. The influence of a teacher conducting a single dynamic math interview with a child already showing low mathematics achievement is thus limited (or nonexistent) but can be expected to increase (or at least occur) with repeated use.
To summarize, much of the specific knowledge and skills required for use of dynamic math interviews during mathematics teaching practice can be taught and enhanced via participation in a professional development program specifically designed for this purpose. Dynamic math interviews can be considerate an effective means for gaining insight into children’s math learning needs and better understanding these needs. Moreover, dynamic math interviewing can improve teachers’ mathematics teaching and thereby contribute to both their mathematical knowledge for teaching and mathematics teaching self- efficacy. The improvement of children’s mathematical development with the use of dynamic math interviews has yet be demonstrated.
Strengths, limitations and directions for future research
The strength of this research lies in its longitudinal design. It covered two consecutive school years, involved the same teacher participants throughout the duration and reached across a variety of elementary
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Summary and general discussion
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