What does it mean to teach Mathematics for understanding? When to tell and when to listen

Creating a Child Friendly Psychosocial Learning Environment in Mathematics: A Case of Problem Solving in Grade 6

“…As seen by Bishop (1998:39) "the approach is only action research when it is collaborative". The partnership involved repeated cycles of planning, teaching and reflection with a view to learning about and improving practice (Maoto & Wallace, 2006). Over the period of the study, the collaboration took different forms, including lessons facilitated by the teacher and observed by me, lessons facilitated by me and observed by the teacher, lessons jointly facilitated as collaborators, reflective sessions following each lesson and joint planning of term activities.…”

“…Being learning centred requires a teacher who is a good listener to learners' thinking rather than listening for only the right answer (Maoto, 2003). Thus, it requires a teacher who could appropriately and delicately balance telling and listening (Maoto & Wallace, 2006), in what Lampert (1985) refers to as 'dilemma management'.…”

Teacher Learning Insights From Two Practice-Based Inquiries in South Africa and New Zealand

“…They gave her useful advice on how to rephrase the instructions in her worksheets to make it more understandable. Meeting regularly and having professional conversations with colleagues are important contributors to teacher learning (Maoto and Wallace 2006;Timperley 2011;Umugiraneza et al 2018). The mentorship offered by Wendy's professional learning mentor was also a crucial contributor to her professional growth and practice.…”

“…A distributed perspective suggests that learning about teaching involves the teacher and other members of the educational community. Teacher learning is often mediated through dialogue and conversation and it is important to consider how teachers work together and share practices focused on learning purpose (Maoto and Wallace 2006). Kelly (2006) notes that teacher learning is "the process through which teachers move towards expertise" (p.514) and where teachers are able to draw upon two knowledge constructs that of knowledge-in-practice and knowledge-of-practice.…”

Instructional Strategies for High School ELL Refugee Students in Mathematics

“…However, since many students are still struggling after repeating the same strategy of "starting with the short leg, then either multiply or divide by either 2 or √3, depending on problems", it would be more productive to spend time talking about their confusion or about the reason some of their answers are wrong/incorrect. Maoto and Wallace (2006) argue that "there are different kinds of telling, including direct forms (explanations and demonstrations) and indirect forms (via questions, and the nature and structure of activities)" and claim that "the consequences of the norm of 'direct' telling, we believe, are too often passive and bored learners" (p. 68). When students do not understand information from direct forms, teachers should try to use indirect forms instead of repeating the same statements hoping they comprehend eventually.…”