ELEMENTARY TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TALKING ALGEBRA: THE CLINICAL INTERVIEW AND CHILDREN'S ALGEBRAIC REASONING

This presentation will make the case for the use of the Clinical Interview method by elementary mathematics teachers to assess and enhance children's algebraic reasoning. It will draw on theoretical considerations from developmental psychology and mathematics education pertaining to the use of clinical interviewing and the importance of early algebra. The paper will report on a study of teachers’ learning to interview within the context of teacher education method and research courses. Description of how teachers develop and/or modify algebraic interview protocols to assess and teach early algebra and how they conduct and learn from the interviews will be analyzed and presented. Findings confirmed that training teachers to use clinical interviews improve their questioning skills and help them bring back the voice of their students to lesson planning and teaching of early algebra mathematics lessons.