| This thesis presents a story of teachers' developing ideas about giving close attention to student thinking while teaching. Seven elementary classroom teachers participated in a 10-week research project in which they documented two students' developing ideas in one subject area. As teachers researched their students' thinking, I researched the teachers' thinking. I explored the question, "How do elementary school teachers learn to incorporate close attention to student thinking into their classroom practice?"; I chose four methods of gathering data that allowed teachers to talk and write about their experience in the project. I used Collaborative Assessment Conferences [Seidel, 1995] and Critical Exploration [Duckworth, 2005] to conduct group interviews; I interviewed participants before, during and after their experience with the project, and I made copies of teachers' journals describing student thinking. Teachers documented student work in the form of taped and transcribed conversations as well as writing and drawing. The entire study is conducted as a Critical Exploration (Duckworth, 2005).; Participating in this project led teachers to give attention not only to student thinking, but to their own thinking as well. Teachers created new methods of teaching in order to more closely follow students' thinking. Also, teachers encountered new questions about students, subject matter, and what it means to teach and learn. In light of giving close attention to student thinking, teachers made decisions that altered and expanded their classroom practices, including creating opportunities for students to author their own ideas and opportunities for teachers to authentically respond. |
