Overview

Student thinking is central to mathematics teaching. Teachers need to learn what students think, nurture connections between what students think and established mathematical knowledge and practices, and support growth in students’ thinking over time.

This part uses a video clip from a third-grade classroom to develop skill in attending to students’ use of and thinking about the number line.

Video is one of many tools that provide a window into student thinking. It can serve as a “text,” displaying concrete instances of student thinking that can be slowed down, replayed, and shared. With video, student thinking can be seen, heard, and studied in more detail than can typically be done in real time. The use of video can also aid description and analysis: It allows people to support claims with evidence from things that were said and done rather than from impressions and recollections.

Observations from this video also provide a launching point for considering what there is for students to learn about using the number line.