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A strong foundation in early number concepts is critical for students’ future success in mathematics. Research suggests that visual representations, like a number line, support students’ development of number sense by helping them create a mental representation of the order and magnitude of numbers. In addition, explicitly sequencing instruction to transition from concrete to visual to abstract representations of mathematics concepts supports students’ conceptual understanding. This column describes and illustrates how teachers can use number lines and features of explicit and systematic instruction to support students’ early development of number sense.

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This study investigates how the exploration phase of the teacher learning cycle provides 11 novice mathematics teachers with the opportunity to learn about the high-leverage practice of launching a complex task. Findings suggest that the exploration phase of the teacher learning cycle provides novice teachers with opportunities to reflect on how to launch a complex task within the context of their own instructional practice. Because of this opportunity to deeply consider the pedagogical resource and reflect on it, novice teachers’ instructional visions were a filter through which they interpreted key instructional strategies offered up during the exploration phase of the teacher learning cycle. Further, the authors discuss three key takeaways for teacher educators who are attempting to implement the teacher learning cycle into their teacher education coursework.