| This dissertation examines the ways in which teachers interact with students while students are engaged in solving open-ended mathematical problems. In this thesis, the teachers' actions were categorized. The data from this study come from a program in which middle school teachers, after completing an innovative after school development program, created environments in which their students solved challenging open-ended mathematical problems. The teachers' actions were further analyzed in terms of how teachers' actions afforded them the opportunity to attend to students' mathematical reasoning and how this reasoning informed teachers' subsequent actions. Six videotaped sessions conducted by two middle school teachers in which sixth grade students solved problems involving fractions, combinatorics and probability were analyzed. The results of this analysis can inform mathematics educators about effective ways in which teachers can interact with students1.; 1This work was partially supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, REC-0309062 (directed by Carolyn A. Maher, Arthur B. Powell, and Keith Weber). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. |
