F I R S TM ATH

The First Five Years of Mathematics Teaching

A study of novice teachers development of mathematical knowledge for teaching and
the influence of previous preparation, school context and opportunities to learn-on-the-job

FIRSTMATH
Pre-Observation Interview Evaluation Rubric
FOR THE OBSERVER: After you have done the pre-observation interview evaluate
the results of the interview according to the following rubric.
The following questions have to do with the potential of the lesson. Does the lesson
have the potential to engage students in doing mathematics or procedures with
connections:
1. Using complex and non-algorithmic thinking (i.e., is there a predictable, wellrehearsed approach or pathway explicitly suggested by the task, task instructions,
or a worked-out example?
2. Exploring and understanding the nature of mathematical concepts, procedures,
and/or relationships?
Might the task require students to:
1. Solve a genuine, challenging problem?
2. Develop an understanding for why formulas or procedures work?
3. Apply a broad general procedure that remains closely connected to mathematical
concepts?
4. Identify patterns and form generalizations based on these patterns?
5. Make conjectures and support conclusions with mathematical evidence?
6. Make connections between representations, strategies, or mathematical
concepts, and procedures?

F I R S TM ATH
The First Five Years of Mathematics Teaching
A study of novice teachers development of mathematical knowledge for teaching and
the influence of previous preparation, school context and opportunities to learn-on-the-job

FIRSTMATH
Post- Observation Interview Evaluation Rubric
FOR THE OBSERVER: After you have done the post-observation interview evaluate
the results of the interview according to the following rubric.
The following questions have to do with your assessment of the lesson taught:
1. Did the teacher make content explicit through explanation, modeling,
representations, and examples?
2. Did the teacher elicit and interpret individual students thinking?
3. Did the teacher establish norms and routines for classroom discourse central to
subject-matter domain?
4. Did the teacher recognize particular, common patterns of student thinking in a
subject-matter domain?
5. Did the teacher identify and implement an instructional response to common
patterns of student thinking?
6. Did the teacher teach a lesson or segment of instruction?
7. Did the teacher implement organizational routines, procedures, and strategies to
support a learning environment?
8. Did the teacher engaged in strategic relationship-building conversations with
students?
9. Did the teacher set long and short term learning goals for students referenced to
external benchmarks?
10. Did the teacher appraise, choose, and modify tasks and texts for a specific
learning goal?
11. Did the teacher design a sequence of lessons toward a specific learning goal?
12. Did the teacher select and use particular methods to check understanding and
monitor student learning?
13. Did the teacher compose, select, interpret, using information from methods of
summary assessment?

F I R S TM ATH
The First Five Years of Mathematics Teaching
A study of novice teachers development of mathematical knowledge for teaching and
the influence of previous preparation, school context and opportunities to learn-on-the-job

14. Did the teacher or will the teacher provide oral and written feedback to students
on their work?
15. Did the teacher analyze instruction for the purpose of improving it?
16. Have the teacher communicated with other professionals about the content of
this lesson?
The following questions have to do with student discussion:
1. Did students show/describe written work and provide complete and thorough
explanations of why their strategy, idea, or procedure was valid?
2. Did students explain why their strategy worked and/or was appropriate for the
problem by making connections to the underlying mathematical ideas (e.g., I
divided because we needed equal groups)?
3. Did students show/discuss more than one strategy or representation* for solving
the task, and provide explanations of how/why the different
strategies/representations/mathematical ideas were used to solve the task and/or
make connections between strategies/representations/ mathematical ideas?

HOLISTIC OBSERVATION EVALUATION RUBRIC

FOR THE OBSERVER: After you have done the pre-observation interview, the
observation, and the post-observation interview evaluate the results of the
interview according to the following holistic rubric. Please circle all that are
relevant.

F I R S TM ATH
The First Five Years of Mathematics Teaching
A study of novice teachers development of mathematical knowledge for teaching and
the influence of previous preparation, school context and opportunities to learn-on-the-job

HOLISTIC OBSERVATION EVALUATION RUBRIC1

Lower- Level Demands
1

Higher-Level Demands

Memorization Tasks

Procedures Without
Connections Tasks
Are algorithmic. Use of
the procedure is either
specifically called for
or its use is evident
based on prior
instruction,
experience, or
placement of the task.

Involves producing
previously learned
facts, rules, formulae,
or definitions.

Involves committing
facts, rules, formulae,
or definitions to
memory.

Require limited

cognitive demand for

successful completion.
There is little
ambiguity about what
needs to be done and
how to do it.

Cannot be solved
using procedures
because a procedure
does not exist or
because the time
frame in which the
task is being
completed is too short
to use a procedure.

Have no connection to
the concepts or
meaning that underlie
the procedure being
used.

Are not ambiguous

such tasks involve

exact reproduction of
previously seen
material and what is to
be reproduced is
clearly and directly
stated.
Have no connection to
the concepts or
meaning that underlie
the facts, rules,
formulae, or
definitions being

Are focused on
producing correct
answers rather than
developing
mathematical
understanding.

Require no
explanations, or
explanations that
focus solely on
describing the
procedure that was

Procedures With
Doing Mathematics Tasks
Connections Tasks
Focus students

Requires complex and

attention on the use of
non-algorithmic
procedures for the
thinking (i.e., there is
purpose of developing
not a predictable, welldeeper levels of
rehearsed approach or
understanding of
pathway explicitly
mathematical
suggested by the task,
concepts and ideas.
task instructions, or a
worked-out example).
Suggest pathways to

Requires students to
follow (explicitly or
explore and to
implicitly) that are
understand the nature
broad general
of mathematical
procedures that have
concepts, processes,
close connections to
or relationships.
underlying conceptual
ideas as opposed to
narrow algorithms that
are opaque with
respect to underlying
concepts.
Usually are

Demands selfrepresented in
monitoring or selfmultiple ways (e.g.,
regulation of ones
visual diagrams,
own cognitive
manipulatives,
processes. Requires
symbols, problem
students to access
situations). Making
relevant knowledge
connections among
and experiences and
multiple
make appropriate use
representations helps
of them in working
to develop meaning.
through the task
Require some degree

Requires considerable
of cognitive effort.
cognitive effort and
Although general
may involve some
procedures may be
level of anxiety for the
followed, they cannot
student due to the
be followed mindlessly.
unpredictable nature
of the solution process
required
Students need to

Requires students to
engage with the
analyze the task and
conceptual ideas that
actively examine task
underlie the
constraints that may
procedures in order to
limit possible solution
successfully complete
strategies and

F I R S TM ATH
The First Five Years of Mathematics Teaching
A study of novice teachers development of mathematical knowledge for teaching and
the influence of previous preparation, school context and opportunities to learn-on-the-job

learned or reproduced.
1

used.

the task and develop

understanding

Source: [Sandra can you please cite the source here?]

solutions.