Developing a cognitive model of advanced teacher professional vision for understanding processes of noticing and reasoning

Teacher professional vision (PV) describes teachers' situation-specific ability to notice and reason about pedagogically relevant classroom events - encompassing both instructional learning processes and classroom management interactions. PV comprises two core processes: noticing (the selective perception of relevant classroom cues) and reasoning/interpretation (the knowledge-based process of making sense of what has been noticed). Previous research has consistently shown that novice and expert teachers differ systematically in their PV skills and that these skills can be fostered through targeted professional development. While existing models of professional vision have provided important conceptual distinctions between noticing and reasoning, a theory-based specification of the underlying cognitive processes remains limited. In this conceptual contribution, we address this gap by introducing a cognitive processing model of teacher professional vision (PV-CP model) that aligns PV research with central assumptions from educational cognitive psychology and expertise research. The model differentiates four core processes: two noticing-related processes (information selection and breadth of the visual field) and two reasoning-related processes (cognitive organizing and integrating). Drawing on recent empirical studies of PV, predominantly using eye-tracking methods, we synthesize systematic differences between novice and experienced teachers across these processes. Experienced teachers are characterized by rapid, knowledge-guided information selection, holistic classroom monitoring, and the ability to organize and integrate visual information into coherent mental models, enabling accurate interpretation and adaptive decision-making. Building on the PV-CP model, we further discuss implications for the design of professional vision training in teacher education. In particular, we discuss video-based learning environments, eye movement modeling examples, and verbal expert self-explanations and outline how these approaches may support targeted development of noticing and reasoning processes. By providing a cognitively grounded process model, this contribution advances theoretical integration in PV research and offers a systematic framework for future empirical studies and instructional interventions.