Mathematics Teacher Noticing: A Case of Students' Cognition of a Course Content

Abstract

It is essential for Course Lecturers and Course Tutors to be aware of their students' cognition. It is noteworthy in the context of teaching and learning. Teacher recognition is critical to improving classroom teaching and learning and has been the core mandate of every educational institution worldwide. And it has become critical that various approaches and shifts be learned and incorporated into the educational system. This study used a purely qualitative approach and a Single Case Design. It also determined the cognition level of topics facilitated by a Course Lecturer or Course Tutor and topics learned in groups by students. It was carried out to ascertain the cognition of some university students enrolled in a semester course. The Teacher Noticing framework was used for this. A diagnostic test was used in the study to assess the cognitive level of the topics covered in the fifteen (15) undergraduate participants' courses. The "ACS Model" conceptual framework was contextualized or framed to notice students' understanding and cognition in three levels: "A" for accuracy, "C" for creativity, and "S" for stumbling. Within the time frame, eight related topics were covered. About 85% of the topics were taught with the help of the lecturer, and 15% were taught by the students in groups. The course lecturer also reiterated the few topics covered in groups. The findings indicated that university students (N=8) performed better than non-university students (N=8), with a percentage increase of 75.54% for topics covered by the course lecturer compared to 24.46% for topics covered by group projects. When comparing the topics covered with the instructor acting as the facilitator, topics 2 and 4 have higher means and lower standard deviations (mean = 2.8000, SD =.56061, and mean = 2.0667, SD =.88372, respectively). It is advised that the course lecturer and mathematics instructors use diagnostic tests and quizzes to monitor students' understanding of the subjects covered. In order to support teacher professional development and student assessment, it is advised that Teacher Noticing be incorporated into classroom discussions.