The article investigates the role of attention in the reflective thinking of school mathematicsteachers. It analyses teachers’ ability to pay attention to detail and use their mathematicalknowledge. The vast majority of teachers can be expected to have an excellentknowledge of mathematical techniques. The question examined here is whether this kindof knowledge might structure their attention in such a way that the emphasis on proceduresdeflects their attention from the essential details. Four groups of participant teachersfrom New Zealand, Hong Kong, Germany and Ukraine were given a mini-test containingseven simple mathematics questions. Most questions in the test were provocative in thesense that they looked like routine questions but in fact had some catch. The results ofthe test were startlingçthe vast majority of the participants gave incorrect answers tomost questions in the test. After the test, the participants were given a short questionnaireto reflect on their performance on the test. Their responses were analysed using thetheories of selective, divided and focused attention and Mason’s concept of the disciplineof noticing. Implementations of the results of the study in assessment and professionaldevelopment are discussed.
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