#1012: Exploring Connections between Teachers’ “Co-Learning” Interactions and their Opportunities to Learn Equity-Oriented Mathematics Instruction

There is a pressing need to support pre- and in-service teachers in learning about equity-oriented instruction in mathematics classrooms. In response, our project team designed tools to support mentor teachers (MTs) and teacher candidates (TCs) in “co-learning” (i.e., learning from and with each other) about asset-focused noticing in clinical settings. In this paper, we use conceptions of “togetherness” and “independence” to characterize interactional differences we noted while observing elementary teachers’ co-learning tool use. This study adds nuance to the field’s understanding of teachers’ collaborative learning experiences by pushing beyond the assumption that collaborative learning needs to be harmonious. We offer an illustration of how two teachers, operating in mostly independent and sometimes contentious ways, learned about equity-oriented mathematics instruction. We juxtapose these interactions with another dyad that fits the quintessential mold of an “ideal” partnership, who exuded consistent balance and unity as they, too, co-learned about equity.