Instructional practices in mathematics classrooms

Guðný Helga Gunnarsdóttir (1) , Guðbjörg Pálsdóttir (1)

1 University of Iceland [Reykjavik]

In the last decade, research on instructional practices has been carried out in mathematics classrooms in Iceland, mostly in the lower secondary school. In this study, the structure of 51 mathematics lessons in all compulsory school grades were analysed. The data came from a study called Teaching and Learning in Icelandic Schools, where 518 lessons from all school subjects were observed. To shed light on the structure of the mathematics lessons, diagrams were made which included the categories: non-mathematical work, teachers’ public interaction with the whole class, individual seat work, assessment, group work, and playing of games. The analysis revealed that in most of the mathematics lessons the students were working individually in textbooks. There was little public interaction between the teacher and the class but the teacher went around the class and interacted with the students. There were a few examples of varied instructional practices that emphasized group work and discussions. 

Mots clés: Instructional practices; mathematics lessons; lesson diagrams; compulsory school

Domaines: Education; Histoire et perspectives sur les mathématiques [math.HO]

Guðný Helga Gunnarsdóttir, Guðbjörg Pálsdóttir. Instructional practices in mathematics classrooms. CERME 9 - Ninth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education; ERME, Feb 2015, Prague, Czech Republic. pp.3036-3042. ⟨hal-01289736⟩