A mathematics teacher’s respectful listening in a culturally diverse class

Abstract

Respect and listening are two issues that are complicated to research. This paper presents how respectful listening may constitute one aspect of a teacher’s role in child-centered learning. The analysis focus on a teacher’s reflections about events that took place after she and a colleague carried out a mathematics teaching unit on culturally diverse children’s understanding of ‘pattern’. The teacher observed situations that she found interesting and relevant for the children’s learning. She communicated with the researcher about this for some months. A closer look at the teacher’s reflections caused the research focus to change from what the teacher observed, to how she carried out the observations. So, the research focus is the teacher’s application of respectful listening skills when these observations were made. Our analysis reveals the outcomes of two situations. Situation 1 is about communication between the teacher and a child’s mother, while situation 2 is about communication between the teacher and a child.