Teacher noticing refers to how teachers attend to, interpret, and respond to classroom events, which is known as a crucial skill of effective mathematics instruction. A new article synthesizes multinational research across five countries, finding that teacher noticing varies significantly across different cultural settings, and the frameworks for developing teacher noticing cannot be simply transplanted from one culture to another.
Teacher noticing is increasingly recognized as a crucial component of effective teaching across the globe. However, most existing models originate from Western educational contexts and may not fully capture noticing practices in Asian, African, or other cultural settings. A new study synthesizes research exploring how teachers notice student thinking within diverse cultural and institutional frames.
In a study made available online on June 12, 2025, and published on August 1, 2025, in Volume 8, Issue 3 of ECNU Review of Education , a team of researchers led by Dr. Qiaoping Zhang from The Education University of Hong Kong synthesized comparative studies from China, India, Sweden, Spain, and Germany, to examine teacher noticing. The analysis highlights that teacher noticing is a global phenomenon influenced by various factors such as their experiences, professional norms, and cultural frames.
"Our research shows that teacher noticing is deeply situated in local educational cultures. What teachers pay attention to and how they interpret student thinking varies significantly across countries," explain Dr. Zhang et al.
The study shows that in exam-oriented systems like China's, teachers initially focused more on instructional delivery and correct answers, but through structured professional development, they learned to notice student reasoning more deeply. In contrast, teachers in Sweden and Germany showed greater initial attention to student participation and collaborative reasoning, reflecting their local pedagogical norms.
The study emphasizes that culturally responsive noticing, valuing diverse student thinking and participation, is essential for equitable and effective teaching. It also cautioned that commonly used research tools like vignettes may carry cultural biases and limit cross-cultural validity. "To support teacher noticing globally, we need frameworks that are adapted to local contexts, not simply imported from other educational systems," Dr. Zhang et al. conclude.
