Teacher time out as a site for studying mathematical knowledge for teaching

Abstract

The special mathematical knowledge that is needed for teaching has been studied for decades but the methods for studying it have challenges. Some methods, such as measurement and cognitive interviews, are removed from the dynamics of teaching. Other methods, such as observation, are closer to practice but mostly involve an outsider perspective. Moreover, few methods tap into the tacit and often invisible demands that teachers encounter in teaching. This article develops an argument that teacher time outs in rehearsals and enactments might be a productive site for studying mathematical knowledge for teaching. Teacher time outs constitute a site for professional deliberation, which 1) preserves the complexity and gets inside the dynamics of teaching, where 2) tacit and implicit challenges and demands are made explicit, and where 3) insider and outsider perspectives are combined.