Planning lessons and in-the-moment improvising during enactment of the plan are two central activities inherent to the practice of teaching. To what extent are these pursuits conflicting or inconsistent? What are the characteristics of improvisation during teaching and what are teachers' possible stances on it? We discuss these questions based on…

Years of failed attempts to engage my mathematics teacher students in exploration and co-creation led me to radically change my teaching approach. Inspired by literature that uses the jazz improv metaphor for teaching, I derived three tenets based on principles from jazz improv. First, I would bring no more than a single problem-solving task to…

Students who are labelled as low attaining in mathematics are often seen as a homogeneous group and as such can be assigned learning attributes by others that observe their identity work in the classroom. Rachel Helme argues that by giving attention to an otherwise marginalised voice, it may be possible to challenge the discourse of deficiency,…

This article explores the factors that may cause teachers to defer to the textbook as the ultimate authority on curriculum and pedagogy, drawing on Bakhtin's notion of authoritative and personally persuasive discourse. We found that although teachers deferred to the textbook as the "authority" of what should be taught, they did not fully implement…

This paper first reports on the methodology of a study of teacher knowledge for statistics, conducted in a classroom at the primary school level. The methodology included videotaping of a sequence of lessons that involved students in investigating multivariate data sets, followed up by audiotaped interviews with each teacher. These stimulated…

Discussed is the research method of "didactic engineering" and the potential theoretical problems of putting research findings into practical use as teaching methods in mathematics classrooms. Cited is the possible incompatibility between the theoretical principles of experimental methods and teachers' conceptions. (MDH)

This article arises from a broader study that investigates the benefits and forms of mathematical writing and written texts produced by twelve- to thirteen-year-old students in grade seven classes in six junior high schools in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly in the context of major curriculum changes within South Africa, These recent changes in…

Examined the effects of disruptive behavior in mathematics classes. Reported a case study of 31 Greek students considered to be very difficult. Concluded that an alternative approach toward students' concerns--based on human communication, discussion, and negotiation--improved classroom behavior in general. (MDH)