important quotes

As Boaler and Humphreys (2005) describe, an important direction of teacher research involves understanding teachers' decision making in the moment of teaching. They write:

Each [pedagogical] move is important and demonstrates the

complexity of teachers' work. Such moves also demonstrate the

level, or "grain size," at which teaching decisions are made.

Teachers are often offered advice that is at a much bigger grain

size, such as whether to use group work to have discussions or

lecture. We see [...] that teachers need to make decisions that are

at a smaller grain size, such as when and how to curtail a

discussion, which examples of representation to use, or which

students to call upon. The field of educational research has not

developed extensive knowledge of the detailed pedagogical practices

that are helpful for teachers to learn, yet the difference between

effective and ineffective teaching probably rests in the details of

moment-to-moment decision making. (p. 53)