Welcome
This site contains descriptions of a variety of critical teaching events that occurred in mathematics classes.
A critical event in mathematics is an unexpected moment in a lesson, which provides the teacher with an opportunity to further build upon, and deepen, students’ mathematical understanding. These events are used in teacher training with the goal of teaching future educators about mathematics teaching and learning. We can learn from these events by examining each event from different points of view – that of the student, and that of the teacher – and thinking about the various ways that the teacher could have responded. Each event is accompanied by suggestions, provided by the project team, for analyzing the event from the student’s perspective and from the teacher’s perspective, as well as suggested teacher responses. In addition, there are suggestions for how to use the described event in teacher training, based on our own experience, as well as articles for further reading on the topic.
Examples of events
About ACLIM
The ACLIM program (in Hebrew, the program name is an acronym for “critical events in mathematics learning and teaching”) is a unique, prestigious teacher training program for students in the Mathematics Education department’s teaching certificate program. The program is run by the University of Haifa Mathematics Education department, with support from the Trump Family Foundation. Students in the program learn about a variety of methods of teaching and assessment in mathematics education, through a focus on locating and analyzing critical teaching events that occur during mathematics classes.
We created this site to share the rich experience that we have accumulated over the years in the use of critical mathematical events in teacher training. The purpose of this site is to present teacher educators with a collection of critical teaching events in mathematics, together with suggestions for analyzing the events and using them in teaching training, with the goal of teaching teachers about mathematics education.
The site contains a collection of critical events of various types and involving various mathematical topics. The events were identified by teachers and/or teachers-in-training during a mathematics class that they taught and/or observed. Each one includes a description of the event, possible interpretations of the students’ statements and actions in the event, possible interpretations of the teacher’s statements and actions in the event, and alternative teaching strategies. In addition, there are suggestions for use of the event in various aspects of teacher training, and recommendations for further reading (which are not presented in the English version of the website).c