PROCEEDINGS OF THE 19TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2016
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Inquiry-oriented instruction: A conceptualization of the instructional the components and practices
Page: 979
In this paper we provide a characterization of inquiry-oriented instruction. We begin with a description of the roles of the tasks, the students, and the teacher in advancing the mathematical agenda. We then shift our focus to four main instructional components that are central to carrying out these roles: Generating student ways of reasoning, Building on student contributions, Developing a shared understanding, and Connecting to standard mathematical language and notation. Each of these four components is further delineated into a total of eight practices. These practices are defined and exemplified by drawing on the K-16 research literature. As a result, this conceptualization of inquiry-oriented instruction makes connections across research communities and provides a characterization that is not limited to undergraduate, secondary, or elementary mathematics education. The ultimate goal for this work is to serve as a theoretical foundation for a measure of inquiry-oriented instruction.