Abstract
The purpose of this article is to consider what methods from ethnopoetics—a field at the intersection of linguistics and anthropology—may add to narrative inquiry in mathematics education. I build a theoretical framework to argue for the use of narrative inquiry and ethnopoetics in studies of teacher knowledge. I report ethnopoetic analyses of two teachers’ narratives and what they suggest regarding their knowledge of mathematics-for-teaching.
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Notes
The teachers and I also met as a group for a total of 6 h over several weeks to discuss their teaching. Each teacher would tell a teaching story and the group would discuss it. After the group had finished discussing that teacher’s story, the second teacher would tell a story of teaching, so on. I video- and/or audio taped every interview and group meeting.
Though I did not observe the particular lessons represented by teachers’ stories in this article, I had spent time in the teachers’ classrooms during other lessons. In addition, members of my dissertation committee were very familiar with both teachers and had observed their teaching. While every story is an interpretation of events, we have no reason to believe that the teachers were misrepresenting their practice while telling these stories.
When Glynnis said “here to here” she gestured with her hands, indicating the distance between two points on a line.
When Glynnis said “She drew half here” and “It would have to be over here”, she gestured with her hands to indicate the relative positions of the two points on the number line.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Anna Sfard, Helen Featherstone, Ralph Putnam, Dorinda Carter, Ann Lawrence, and especially Sandra Crespo for reading drafts and providing feedback on versions of the paper. Thanks also to David Pimm and Dorothy White for taking time to talk with me about these ideas. My heartfelt appreciation goes to the teachers who gave hours for interviews, study group sessions, and professional presentations. Thank you to the anonymous reviewers and Dr. Norma Presmeg for their careful reading of the earlier manuscript and valuable guidance in the revision process.
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Oslund, J.A. Mathematics-for-teaching: what can be learned from the ethnopoetics of teachers’ stories?. Educ Stud Math 79, 293–309 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9348-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-011-9348-8