Responsive mathematics teaching and mathematics teacher noticing: a systematic review in early childhood and primary education

Abstract

At a time when more student-centred teaching methodologies are being introduced, it is essential to investigate how educational research in teacher professional development has progressed. In this study, we focus especially on mathematics teaching to promote responsive teaching and noticing since both practices place students in the foreground in the teaching and learning processes. To this end, we carried out a systematic review of research articles published between 2010 and 2023 in the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases on responsive teaching and noticing in mathematics teacher education programmes of early childhood and primary school levels. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement, 40 articles were identified. The general results show that the most productive countries were the United States, Spain and Australia; that the most addressed mathematical contents were those related to the teaching of numbers, operations and their properties; that there are more studies focused on primary school than on preschool; and that most studies used qualitative methodologies. The specific results show that the research topics focus on three aspects: teachers' decision-making in relation to culturally responsive mathematics teaching; the identification of general characteristics of the noticing competence in mathematics teaching; and the specific development of professional noticing skills