Examining US Elementary Teachers’ Perceptions of and Comfort with Students’ Mathematical Mistakes

Developing a growth mindset is essential for students' academic and lifelong development. How teachers view and manage students' errors in mathematics classrooms shapes students' mindset towards making mathematical mistakes. This study examines teachers' perceptions of students' mathematical mistakes and their comfort levels in addressing those mistakes during instruction. The hour-long, semi-structured interviews included questions to investigate how teachers described their views on student mistakes and how they felt when they tried to address a student's mistake in the classroom. We interviewed seven elementary teachers. The results showed that teachers believed mistakes are essential for "proactively teaching," supporting student learning, and lesson planning. However, teachers expressed that they did not feel comfortable addressing student mistakes. The factors that appeared to contribute to their low comfort levels were fighting against the instinct to correct the mistakes for students, concerns about students' negative emotional reactions, and low efficacy in addressing student mistakes. Implications and suggestions are discussed.