An essential teaching skill for (prospective) mathematics teachers (PT’s) is noticing what students think and responding in a way that aids students’ understanding of the mathematical problem. To equip PT’s with this ability, this project introduces the use of a GenAI-chatbot as a simulation tool for practicing noticing and responding. The impact of this intervention will be evaluated primarily using qualitative data.

Background information

The course Vakdidactiek 2 equips prospective mathematics teachers (PT’s) with essential teaching practices, like noticing students’ thinking. This skill involves identifying students’ mathematical thinking, interpreting that thinking, and responding to advance the students’ understanding. What makes this noticing practice so essential, is that it supports both student understanding and teacher professional development. Traditionally, PT’s receive instruction about this teaching practice and reflect on potential difficulties and ideas students may have when solving a maths problem. However, opportunities for repeated practice with and reflection on this skill are limited. Using a GenAI-chatbot, PTs can assume the teacher role while interacting with a simulated student, allowing for more realistic, low-stakes practice. With the chatbot, PT’s can have multiple tryouts around the same classroom interaction and receive feedback on their responses.

Aims

This project aims to answer the following research questions:

• In what ways can GenAI support PTs in learning to notice students’ mathematical thinking, particularly in responding to such thinking?
• What are the advantages and challenges of using GenAI when learning to notice students’ thinking? Both from the facilitator’s and the PTs’ perspectives.

Project description

Qualitative research methods will be used to address the research questions, complemented by some quantitative analysis (descriptive statistics). Using a designated rubric, the PT’s interactions with the chatbot during the classroom scenario will be analyzed, revealing their noticing and responses to students’ thinking. A joint discussion on the PT’s experience with the chatbot in training noticing will be conducted and analyzed for the second research question. Additionally, interviews with the PT’s about their experience—using the chatbot interactions as an artifact—will be conducted, informing both research questions.

References

• Bjerke, A. H., & Nolan, K. (2023). The return to university after fieldwork: Toward disrupting practice-theory challenges identified by mathematics teacher educators. In Frontiers in Education, Vol. 8, p. 1129206). Frontiers Media SA.‏
• Jacobs, V. R., Lamb, L. L., & Philipp, R. A. (2010). Professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking. Journal for research in mathematics education, 41(2), 169-202.‏
• Nurick, Y., Kuntze, S., Rotem, S.H., Friesen, M., & Krummenauer, J. (2023). ZDP Noticing – A vignette-based study into pre-service teachers’analysis of an algebra classroom situation. In M. Ayalon, B. Koichu, R. Leikin, L. Rubel., & M. Tabach (Eds.). Proceedings of the 46th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, (Vol. 3, pp. 419-426). University of Haifa.
• Rotem, S. H., & Ayalon, M. (2024). Constructing coherency levels to understand connections among the noticing skills of pre-service mathematics teachers. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 27(4), 579-605.‏
• Van Zandt Allen, L. (2013). The impact of induction support on teacher development, teacher retention, and the teacher quality issue. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(3), 75-92.‏