Learning from disruptive classroom behaviour in a Grade 2 mathematics lesson

In this article a descriptive ‘account-of’ an unsuccessful mathematics lesson is followed by detailed analysis , which drew on theory and literature and provides an example of a South African teacher-researcher’s self-study on disruptive learner behaviour in her Foundation Phase mathematics class. It shows is useful at the practitioner level, in which it details how increasingly critical layers of pedagogic reflection can be used to transform mathematics teaching, and via this route, to improve access to mathematical learning in a challenging context. At the research and policy levels, the findings question the separation of attention to mathematics and learner behaviour, rather than addressing the two in combination.