Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Teacher Noticing: Bridging and Broadening Perspectives, Contexts, and Frameworks pp 183–204Cite as

Noticing Students’ Conversations and Gestures During Group Problem-Solving in Mathematics

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

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

Abstract

This study investigates how attention to student conversation and gesturing can inform teacher decisions about intervention within group problem-solving in mathematics. A class of grade 5 students was videotaped during group problem-solving over the course of a school year with a purpose of examining how talk during these sessions was organized, and how changes in gesture and body language accompanied progress in the problem. It was observed that when students made progress in a problem their talk took on a cooperative, conversational structure. In addition, student gestures grew in size and became more animated as their confidence in their utterances increased. At the same time, students working cooperatively tended to echo each other’s gestures and body positioning. Attending to these observed results will allow teachers to interpret how students interact in order to make more meaningful decisions about supporting group talk.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Amador, J. (2016). Professional noticing practices of novice mathematics teacher educators. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 14, 217–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1978). Universals of language usage: Politeness phenomena. In E. Goody (Ed.), Questions and politeness strategies in social interaction (pp. 56–311). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choppin, J. (2011). The impact of professional noticing on teachers’ adaptations of challenging tasks. Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 13, 175–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coles, A. (2013). Being alongside. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Corwin, R., Price, S. L., & Storeygard, J. (1996). Talking mathematics: Resources for developing professionals. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowder, E. (1996). Gestures at work in sense-making science talk. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 5(3), 173–208 (Collaborative Learning: Making Scientific and Mathematical Meaning with Gesture and Talk).

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowder, E. M., & Newman, D. (1993). Telling what they know: The role of gesture and language in children’s science explanations. Pragmatics and Cognition, 1(2), 341–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, B. (1996). Teaching mathematics: Toward a sound alternative. New York & London: Garland Publishing INC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Education, B. MC. (2007). British Columbia Ministry of Education. From Ministry of Education Curriculum: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/course.php?lang=en&subject=Mathematics&course=Mathematics_K_to_7&year=2007

  • Erickson, F. (2011). On noticing teacher noticing. In M. G. Sherin, V. R. Jacobs, & R. A. Phillipp (Eds.), Mathematics teacher noticing: Seeing through teachers’ eyes (pp. 17–34). NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, C., Llinares, S., & Valls, J. (2012). Learning to notice students’ mathematical thinking through on-line discussions. ZDM, 44, 747–759.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández, C., Llinares, S., & Valls, J. (2013). Primary school teacher’s noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in problem solving. The Mathematics Enthusiast, 10(1&2), Article 19, 441–467

    Google Scholar 

  • Gadamer, H. (1975). Truth and method (J. Weibsheimer & D. G. Marshall, Trans.). London: Sheen and Ward.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerofsky, S. (2008). Gesture diagnosis and intervention in the pedagogy of graping: Pilot studies and next steps. From Academia: http://www.academia.edu/999238/Gesture_as_diagnosis_and_intervention

  • Goffman, E. (1972). Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face behaviour. Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin University Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldin-Meadow, S. (1999). The role of gesture in communication and thinking. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 13(11), 419–429.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldin-Meadow, S. (2015). From action to abstraction: Gesture as a mechanism of change. Developmental Review, 38, 167–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, C. (1994). Professional vision. American Anthropologist, 96(3), 606–633.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grice, H. P. (1975). Logic and conversation. In P. Cole & J. L. Morgan (Eds.), Syntax and semantics III, speech acts (pp. 41–58). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hastings, S. (2006, March 3). Body language. The Times Educational Supplement. London, England: TSL Education Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holler, J., & Wilkin, K. (2011). Co-speech gesture mimicry in the process of collaborative referring during face-to-face dialogue. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 35, 133–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, V. R., Lamb, L. L. C., & Philipp, R. A. (2010). Professional noticing of children’s mathematical thinking. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 41(2), 169–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, V., Lamb, L. C., Philipp, R., Schappelle, B., & Burke, A. (2007). Professional noticing by elementary school teachers of mathematics. Chicago, IL: American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendon, A. (2004). Gesture: Visible action as utterance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kimbara, I. (2008). Gesture form convergence in joint description. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 32(2), 123–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levinson, S. (1983). Pragmatics. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. (2002). Researching your own practice: The discipline of noticing. NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, D. (1992). Hand and mind. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeil, D. (2005). Gesture and thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, N. (1996). The quality of talk in children’s collaborative activity in the classroom. Learning and Instruction, 6(4), 359–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (2003). Meaning making in secondary science classrooms. Berkshire, GBR: McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000a). Principles and standards for school mathematics. VA: Reston.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000b). Executive summary: Principles and standards of mathematics. From National Council of Teachers of Mathematics: https://www.nctm.org/uploadedFiles/Standards_and_Positions/PSSM_ExecutiveSummary.pdf

  • NCH Software, Inc. (n.d.). ExpressScribe [Computer program]. Greenwood Village, Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimm, D. (2014). Personal correspondence.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomerantz, A., & Fehr, B. J. (1997). Conversation analysis: An approach to the analysis of social interaction. In T. A. Dijk (Ed.), Discourse studies: A multidisciplinary approach (pp. 65–190). London: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Psathas, G., & Anderson, T. (1990). The ‘practices’ of transcription in conversation analysis. Semiotica, 78(1/2), 75–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Radford, L., Edwards, L., & Arzarello, F. (2009). Introduction: Beyond words. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 70, 91–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, W.-M. (2000). From gesture to scientific language. Journal of Pragmatics, 32, 1683–1714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language, 5, 696–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheflen, A. E. (1964). The significance of posture in communication systems. Psychiatry, 316–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schoenfeld, A. H. (2011). Noticing matters. A lot. Now what? In M. G. Sherin, V. R. Jacobs, & R. A. Phillipp (Eds.), Mathematics teacher noticing: Seeing through teachers’ eyes (pp. 223–238). NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sfard, A. (2008). Thinking as communicating: Human development, the growth of discourses and mathematizing. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sfard, A. (2009). What’s all the fuss about gestures? Educational Studies in Mathematics, 70, 191–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sfard, A., Forman, E., & Kieran, C. (2001). Cognition as communication: Rethinking learning-by-talking through multi-faceted analysis of students’ mathematical interactions. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 8(1), 42–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sfard, A., Nesher, P., Streefland, L., Cobb, P., & Mason, J. (1998). Learning mathematics through conversation: Is it as good as they say? For the Learning of Mathematics, 18(1), 41–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sikveland, R. O., & Ogden, R. (2012). Holding gestures across turns: Moments that generate shared understanding. Gesture, 12(2), 166–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, J. N., Eisenhardt, S., Fisher, M., Schack, E. O., Tassell, J., & Yoder, M. (2015, December–January). Professional noticing: Developing responsive mathematics teaching. Teaching Children Mathematics, 21(5), 294–303.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Es, E. A. (2004). Mathematics teachers’ learning to notice in the context of video clubs. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Es, E. A., & Sherin, M. G. (2002). Learning to notice: Scaffolding new teachers’ interpretations of classroom interactions. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 10(4), 571–596.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vertegaal, R., Van der Veer, G. C., & Vons, H. (2000). Effects of gaze on multiparty mediated communication. In Proceedings of GI 2000 (pp. 95–102). Montrea.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wells, K. (2014, October). A conversation-gesture approach to recognising mathematical understanding in group problem solving (teaching from the sidelines). From Simon Fraser University Library. http://summit.sfu.ca/item/14588

  • Winter, B., Perlman, M., & Matlock, T. (2013). Using space to talk and gesture about numbers: Evidence from the TV News Archive. Gesture, 13, 377–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittgenstein, L. (1957). Philosophical investigations (G.E.M. Anscombe, Trans.). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Kevin J. Wells

Authors
  1. Kevin J. Wells
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin J. Wells .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, USA

    Edna O. Schack

  2. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Molly H. Fisher

  3. STEM Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA

    Jennifer A. Wilhelm

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wells, K.J. (2017). Noticing Students’ Conversations and Gestures During Group Problem-Solving in Mathematics. In: Schack, E., Fisher, M., Wilhelm, J. (eds) Teacher Noticing: Bridging and Broadening Perspectives, Contexts, and Frameworks. Research in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46753-5_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46753-5_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46752-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46753-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation