Investigation of prospective mathematics teachers' noticing of student thinking related to probability

The aim of this study is to reveal and evaluate the attending and interpreting skills of student thinking of prospective teachers, as well as their instructional suggestions as responding skills. The current study was conducted with 29 prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) within a qualitative design in the context of probability. First, three probability problems were asked to sixty-two 8th graders (13-14 years old) in a middle school, and their solutions were used to create tasks for PMTs. PMTs answered the tasks in a written report. Then, a class discussion was held, and PMTs were given the opportunity to revise the initial reports. Content analysis was used for data analysis. PMTs demonstrated partial or robust evidence for attending to and interpreting students' thinking. However, they struggled to respond to students' reasoning. In the revised reports, the PMTs' evidence for noticing skills was better with the support of the class discussion. This study provides an example of an approach that can be used for teaching in method courses, allowing PMTs' noticing skills for student thinking to be revealed and improved.