Case 4: Using Vignettes To Highlight The Importance of Eliciting and Using Evidence of Student Thinking

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 2014) indicated that mathematics teachers must build upon PK–12 student thinking to make adjustments to their instruction and provide feedback to students. Further, highlighting student thinking can help the teacher identify the specific strengths and weaknesses of students’ understanding related to a specific mathematical concept. Smith et al. (2018) explained, “Simply telling the student that he or she is wrong or indicating the correct answer will not help a student move forward in understanding” (p. 40). The teacher must utilize mathematics tasks in which students can make their thinking visible and give students feedback so that they can reflect on their learning.