ABSTRACT
Interactive teaching demands restraint on the teacher’s part to balance observing, listening and informally assessing on the one hand with the roles of telling, explaining, demonstrating and modelling on the other. Because children need to learn the language of mathematics and become fluent in mathematical discourse, it is useful for teachers to adopt a strategy whereby ‘the one who knows the most does the most listening, while the one who knows the least does the most talking’. This notion, which might seem odd at first, helps the teacher to provide space for children to practise sharing ideas and giving mathematical explanations, which initially will be incomplete and untidy. This approach provides an ideal context for teachers to monitor and assess children’s thinking.
