Understanding a Teacher's Reflections: A Case Study of a Middle School Mathematics Teacher

• Published in: School science and mathematics Vol. 107; no. 6; pp. 246 - 257
• Main Authors: Kwon, Na-Young, Orrill, Chandra Hawley
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2007; School Science and Mathematics Association
• Subjects: Case Studies; Classroom communication; Classroom observation; Classroom Techniques; Classrooms; Interviews; Mathematical analysis; Mathematics; Mathematics education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Teachers; Middle school students; Middle School Teachers; Reflection; Reflective Teaching; Students; Teacher Attitudes; Teachers; Teaching methods; Video tapes; Videotape Recordings
• ISSN: 0036-6803; 1949-8594
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1949-8594.2007.tb18286.x

The purpose of this research was to understand how one teacher reflected on different classroom situations and to understand whether the teacher's approach to these reflections changed over time. For the purposes of this study, we considered reflection as the teacher's act of interpreting her own practices and students' thinking to make sense of student understanding and how teaching might relate to that understanding. We investigated a middle school mathematics teacher's reflection on her students while watching videotapes of her classroom and categorized the reflection as Assess, Interpret, Describe, Justify, and Extend. The results show a higher percentage of Extend instances in later interviews than in earlier ones indicating the teacher's increasing attention to her own teaching in how her students developed their understanding. In addition, her reflection became clearer and better integrated as defined by the Cohen and Ball's triangle of interactions.