Examining changes in pre-service teachers’ ability to notice pupils’ mathematical thinking: a focus on perimeter-area relationship

The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which 32 pre-service teachers’ professional noticing of pupils’ mathematical thinking in the perimeter-area relationship changes when they participate in a 14-week professional development programme. Initial and final noticing questionnaires were administered to measure the change in three professional noticing components: attending, interpreting, and deciding how to respond. Responses from these assessments illustrate the growth in the pre-service teachers’ professional noticing skills in terms of making a more detailed analysis of pupils’ solutions, supporting interpretations with evidence by going beyond the correctness of solutions and providing specific instructional moves based on pupils’ understanding.