Teacher's Practices in the Tasks' Discussion Aiming at the Development of Number Sense: a study in an Elementary School

Abstract

This article focuses on the practices of a third grade primary teacher who participated in a collaborative project, aimed at developing students' number sense. Specifically, it analyzes the challenges that the teacher faced during the tasks' discussion and his concerns related to the development of the students' number sense. We used a qualitative methodology and data collection included observation of classroom and of project team's working sessions, and document analysis and interviews. The results highlight the main challenges that the teacher faces: deciding on which students' written productions should be presented to the class; choosing the order of students' presentations; understanding students' strategies and being able to ‘give them a voice’. The teacher's main concerns regarding the development of the students' number sense that stand out are the awareness of the different strategies that could be used, the identification of relationships between contexts, and calculations and use of effective methods of calculation.

Keywords:
Teacher's Practice; Number Sense Development; Tasks' Discussion; Collaborative Work