Chrissy Monteleone, Roger Vallance, & Paul White

Critical mathematical thinking is the ability to reason and make judgments to solve mathematics problems. In order to identify young children’s critical mathematical thinking processes, mainstream classroom teachers may ask higher-order, open-ended stimulus questions to elicit the thinking of these children. This research focuses on teachers’ understanding of critical mathematical thinking and their current processes of identification. The study will use purposively constructed mathematical stimulus questions with children, which focus on a range of mathematical conceptual understandings. The focus children are in their first year of formal school (Kindergarten) in a NSW setting.