Novice Elementary Teachers' Instructional Practices: Opportunities for Problem-Solving and Discourse

The purpose of this study was to examine the mathematics instructional practices of 75 second-year elementary teachers (K-5) in terms of the learning opportunities provided to their students. On average, each teacher completed instructional logs for 43 days across the school year. Select items were analyzed in order to better understand the elementary students' opportunities to engage in problem solving and discourse. Results indicated frequent opportunities for discussion but limited opportunities for engagement with more open-ended tasks and explanation. Implications for future research and mathematics teacher education are discussed. [For the complete proceedings, see ED583989.]