Being Alongside

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiv

   PDF

2. Part One

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

      PDF

   2. Introduction

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 3-10

   3. Enactivism

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 11-24

   4. A Cyclical Enquiry

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 25-34

3. Part Two

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 35-35

      PDF

   2. On Using Video

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 37-51

   3. On Teacher Learning

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 53-64

   4. Re-Looking at Teacher Discussions

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 65-76

4. Part Three

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 77-77

      PDF

   2. On Metacognition

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 79-88

   3. The Story of Teacher a

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 89-99

   4. Heightened Listening

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 101-111

5. Part Four

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 113-113

      PDF

   2. Conclusion

      • Alf Coles

      Pages 115-120

6. Back Matter

   Pages 121-170

   PDF

How do you establish a classroom culture in which students routinely conjecture and think mathematically? How do you establish a way of working with teachers, using video, in which discussion supports professional development? The present book offers answers to these questions through an in depth (enactivist) study of one exceptional teacher in one innovative mathematics department in the UK. The book reveals some striking parallels between working to support students’ mathematical thinking and working to support teacher learning. A case is made for the importance of metacommunication in both contexts - communication about the communications that are occurring. For example, there is compelling evidence from a classroom that metacommunication, linked to the words ‘conjecture’ and ‘becoming a mathematician’, supports student metacognition and mathematical thinking. In working with teachers or students, offering these powerful metacommunications seems to require a heightened listening. With a heightened listening, attention is placed not just in what is said, but in what kind of a thing is said, with the teacher or facilitator being alongside the individuals in the wider group. "Read this book if you’re a teacher for insights into how one teacher establishes a classroom culture where her children are doing mathematics, ‘being mathematicians’ and reflect on what you want in your own classroom. Read this book if you’re a teacher educator to reflect on parallels between teaching and running professional development sessions, particularly using video. If you do not fit in either of these categories, read this book and use stories in your life." - Laurinda Brown, University of Bristol.

• enactivism
• listening
• metacommunication
• using video for professional development
• developing mathematical thinking

• University of Bristol, UK

  Alf Coles

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