Examining teachers’ enactments of a cognitively-demanding mathematics task in fourth grade classrooms

Scholars studying mathematics teaching and learning agree that students need to be effective at solving problems, yet there is a lack of consensus about how to best prepare students to be successful. This exploratory study examined how three different fourth grade teachers’ enacted the same mathematics task with their students and how students’ experiences varied by classroom. The author, a participant-observer in each classroom, recorded and analyzed field notes during each teaching episode and analyzed them in an inductive manner. Data analysis indicated that while each teacher included a graphic organizer that came with the task, there was a lot of variance in teachers’ amount of guidance and direction, the use of the graphic organizer, and the scaffolds used. Implications include considerations when posing rigorous mathematics tasks and how teachers may choose to support their students.