This chapter describes and analyses teachers' promotion of powerful positive affect in primary mathematics classrooms. A qualitative approach (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005) was used for the study described herein, which focused on the interactions between the participants; their thoughts, affect and actions, along with the identification of complex factors that facilitated and constrained their pedagogical change. The design of the study was founded on the argument that teachers significantly influence students' learning in the classroom; therefore, teachers' voices related to their learning and practices are central to the findings presented in this research. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (Engeström, 1987, 1999) and the Stages of Concern (Hall & Hord, 2006) were applied in the analysis to understand teachers' adoption and development of tools that promote powerful positive affect. In conclusion, a conceptual model summarises the factors influencing teachers' work in this area.
The metamorphosis of the ‘virtuoso’: pedagogic patterns in Hong Kong primary mathematics classrooms
