ABSTRACT
I met Clare opportunely. I was about to move into Phase 2 of my research, and knew that I wanted to study teachers who were established in working in an investigative way. Clare expressed interest in the research and invited me to observe in her classroom. She had been teaching for five years and was recognized in her school as being competent and successful. She was a pastoral team leader for a group of staff having care of a number of classes within the school. Her care for, and interest in, students’ social as well as academic well-being was apparent in her relations with students in mathematics lessons. I observed her, principally, teaching a mixed ability Year 10 class whose students she had taught in Year 9. Thus at the beginning of Year 10 she already knew them very well. Although I saw her teach other classes, and she talked to me about her teaching more widely, most of the episodes which I quote arose from the Year 10 class.
