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Photo-Elicitation/Photovoice Interviews to Study Mathematics Teacher Identity

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Research Trends in Mathematics Teacher Education

Part of the book series: Research in Mathematics Education ((RME))

Abstract

How do mathematics teachers see themselves? The construct of identity is an important and understudied construct in understanding mathematics teaching. In this study, two Latino high school Algebra teachers participated in photo-elicitation/photovoice interviews. They presented photographs of their professional and personal “worlds” and told stories about how these photographs connected to their mathematics teaching. The teachers framed their mathematics teacher identity through touchstone stories, the internal narratives teachers tell themselves but share only in “safe” spaces. These touchstone stories focused on sociocultural aspects of mathematics teaching—on the importance of the teachers’ ethnic Latino identities and on the need to take on entirely different teaching identities. This study showed that aspects of mathematics teacher identity, specifically internal stories that teachers tell themselves, and can be documented and elicited through stories and photographs.

This chapter is based on the author’s doctoral dissertation completed at The University of Texas at Austin under the direction of Susan B. Empson.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A video and audio transcribing tool built for educational researchers. http://inqscribe.com/.

  2. 2.

    A qualitative analysis tool developed by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. http://www.transana.com/.

  3. 3.

    I observed Mr. Leche opening one of his lessons with the joke: “I have a few requests. The first one is that no one dies on me.”

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, 50 Church St. Q425, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Theodore Chao

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  1. Theodore Chao
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Correspondence to Theodore Chao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

    Jane-Jane Lo

  2. Department of Mathematics Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA

    Keith R. Leatham

  3. Department of Mathematics, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

    Laura R. Van Zoest

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Chao, T. (2014). Photo-Elicitation/Photovoice Interviews to Study Mathematics Teacher Identity. In: Lo, JJ., Leatham, K., Van Zoest, L. (eds) Research Trends in Mathematics Teacher Education. Research in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02562-9_6

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