#817: (Re)constructing What Counts: The Politics and Possibilities of Teacher Noticing

Teacher noticing, defined as teachers’ ability to attend to and interpret classroom events, constitutes a dominant construct supporting teacher preparation programs and professional development. This conceptual paper argues that noticing frameworks do not simply describe professional knowledge, but actively shape what counts as knowledge in teaching. Dominant cognitive and sociocultural approaches privilege analytical, observable, and individually located forms of knowing while overlooking the tacit, embodied, and relational dimensions that teachers draw on within their practice, carrying political consequences for how teachers are supported. Building on emerging ecological and relational approaches, we argue that reimagining the construct opens possibilities for recognizing the full range of knowledge teachers draw on in their practice. Through an illustrative example with an experienced secondary mathematics teacher, Clark, we explore what becomes possible when research begins from teachers’ lived experience.