Cases of learning to respond to errors through approximations of leading whole-class discussions

The emerging use of approximations of practice in teacher education calls for ways to document teacher candidates’ (TCs’) skill from their enactments and to determine how TCs’ skill develops through such pedagogies. We highlight two cases of secondary mathematics TC development, connecting analyses of two types of approximations—coached rehearsals and scripting tasks— with a focus on the practice of responding to errors in whole-class discussion. Each case illustrates a distinct example of TC development. This work contributes to the research on pedagogies of practice in teacher education by offering approaches for understanding TC practice and development through multiple data sources.