Exploring pre-service mathematics teachers' knowledge of learner thinking within the lesson study context

Abstract

One of the outcomes that newly qualified teachers seek to achieve is to know their learners and how they learn and think. Knowledge of student thinking (KoST) gives teachers the ability to assess how well learners understand mathematical concepts and read trends in misconceptions, and therefore, develop insightful strategies to address the misconceptions accordingly. In the current interpretivist qualitative case study, I used Lesson Study, which is an approach that foregrounds collaboration among a group of teachers, to explore mathematics preservice teachers’ KoST during their work integrated learning. I explored the KoST phenomenon during specific Lesson Study stages, namely the lesson planning stage, the lesson presentation stage, and the post-lesson reflection stage. I answered the following research question: How do mathematics preservice teachers integrate KoST into teaching and learning within the Lesson Study cycle? A purposively drawn sample involved a team of four preservice teachers from one independent initial teacher education institution in South Africa. Data were collected through document analysis, participant and non-participant observation, and unstructured interviews. Data analysis was done deductively and inductively. The findings revealed that preservice teachers to a certain degree consider the elements of KoST during the lesson planning, lesson presentation, and post-lesson reflection stages. However, they prioritised and implemented these elements to a greater extent during the actual lesson presentation and observation of the Lesson Study cycle. In other words, preservice teachers place more emphasis on incorporating learner thinking during the active teaching process than during the planning and reflection stages.