ABSTRACT
As indicated in the overview to this portion of the book, effective mathematics teachers rarely work alone. However, in practice, many mathematics teachers do work in isolation. Even if they work in a mathematics department in which teachers who teach the same course plan lessons together, they still typically implement those lessons in isolation. Once the classroom door is closed, teachers are on their own with their students to direct the flow of the lesson, answer questions, address misconceptions, and resolve any behavior problems. Keeping track of the many actions that occur during a typical classroom period often leaves mathematics teachers with little time to step back and reflect on aspects of instruction that were effective and aspects that could be enhanced. Although teachers may have opportunities to observe other mathematics teachers as part of their initial teacher preparation program, it is not clear that teachers have many opportunities to observe others or have others in their classroom after they are hired as “the teacher.”
