About

Miriam Gamoran Sherin is the Alice Gabrielle Twight Professor of Learning Sciences in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Her research focuses on understanding how teachers think and learn, examining a broad range of teacher knowledge across various cognitive tasks. Sherin's recent work has concentrated on the construct of teacher noticing, specifically exploring teachers' professional vision—the ability to identify and respond to significant events during instruction. She has been a leader in designing and studying contexts that utilize video to promote teacher learning. Sherin has served in multiple leadership roles during her nearly 30 years at Northwestern, including as Director of Undergraduate Studies, contributing significantly to the academic community in her field.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Psychology
• Mathematics education
• Pedagogy
• Artificial Intelligence
• Multimedia
• Cognitive science
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• Towards theoretical synergies in mathematics teacher noticing

  ZDM · 2026-01-15 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Teacher noticing represents a fundamental dimension of mathematics teaching expertise, yet the research in this area remains theoretically fragmented, limiting comprehensive understanding of this multifaceted professional capability. In this paper, we explore potential synergies between five different theoretical perspectives on mathematics teacher noticing identified in prior research: (a) a cognitive-psychological perspective, in which teacher noticing is conceptualised as a set of mental processes used when observing and interpreting classroom events; (b) an expertise-related perspective, which emphasises differences in the noticing capabilities of novice and expert teachers; (c) a discipline-specific perspective, which highlights the development of awareness of one’s noticing; (d) a socio-cultural perspective, in which noticing is treated as a socially situated activity shaped by discursive practices and socio-political contexts; and (e) an ecological-embodied perspective, in which noticing is understood as an embodied activity emerging through teachers’ engagement with their classroom environments. Through a narrative review and systematic comparison of these perspectives, we identify key distinctions in their conceptualisation of noticing, units of analysis, and approaches to learning to notice. We then use deliberate cross-perspective dialogue to generate insights that address theoretical blind spots and challenge traditional paradigmatic boundaries. We conclude by proposing future research directions emphasising inter-theoretical, multi-theoretical, and meta-theoretical inquiry to advance understanding of mathematics teacher noticing.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Noticing Student Thinking to Create Equity

  Mathematics Teacher Learning and Teaching PK-12 · 2026-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Explore how to notice student thinking and expand noticing practices by viewing a short video from an eighth-grade mathematics lesson through an equity lens.

  PublisherDOI

• Productive teacher noticing of critical events in an online video-based professional development course

  Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education · 2025-08-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• The intersection of teacher noticing and the language of practice

  ZDM · 2025-08-29 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Exploring teacher noticing in practice: the role of shaping

  ZDM · 2025-09-22 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Prior research proposed a model of teacher noticing comprised of attending, interpreting and shaping. To date, little research has elucidated what the third component, shaping, looks like in practice. This study addresses this gap by examining teacher noticing as it occurs during instruction. Qualitative analysis of interviews with nine middle and high school mathematics teachers reveals three types of shaping practices teachers report they enact to advance their in-the-moment noticing. These shaping practices relate to different aspects of the instructional system and include eliciting details, leveraging participant structures, and creating and using material and social resources. We describe each practice and elaborate several distinctions in how the practices occur during instruction. In doing so, we show how shaping supports teachers’ noticing of student mathematical thinking and advance research on teacher noticing as an interactive, situated activity.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Self-observation with video as a support for teacher noticing of student thinking

  Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks · 2025-03-14

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Correction: Expanding on prior conceptualizations of teacher noticing

  ZDM · 2024-04-05

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Professional vision and teacher noticing

  2024-11-22 · 2 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  Interest in teacher noticing continues to expand as researchers examine it from many angles. One intriguing perspective is the use of Charles Goodwin’s construct of “professional vision” in relation to teacher noticing. From the start, Goodwin’s notion appeared to have powerful implications for teaching. It seemed that use of the term could help distinguish “everyday noticing” from the work of “professional noticing.” In addition, professional vision highlighted the importance of considering noticing with regard to the phenomena of interest to a given profession. This prompted a focus on how teachers see and make sense of classrooms and the cognitive resources used to do so. Yet, studies of teachers’ professional vision did not typically emphasize the ways in which professional vision is connected to broader political considerations nor the social nature of professional vision—both central aspects for Goodwin. In this chapter, the notion of professional vision from Goodwin’s work is revisited and explored in relation to teacher noticing.

  PublisherDOI

• A study on employee perception toward performance appraisal

  2024-12-19

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  In the contemporary landscape, the internet has become the primary avenue for individuals seeking information about businesses, rendering traditional directories obsolete. In 2017, a staggering 97% of people turned to online sources to discover local businesses, as reported by Adaptive Marketing. This underscores the imperative for businesses to establish a digital presence, primarily through a website, in order to connect with their target audience and foster business growth. Irrespective of the industry, this discourse explores the compelling reasons behind the necessity for businesses to embrace a website in 2020. The article underscores the significance of continual individual and procedural development, focusing on addressing weaknesses to enhance organizational performance. Emphasizing the pivotal role of performance evaluation in organizational life, the narrative highlights its multifaceted nature, encompassing aspects such as assessing work performance, setting goals, and administering rewards. It elucidates how a well-executed performance evaluation system can positively impact employee satisfaction, fostering a conducive environment for increased productivity and organizational success.

  PublisherDOI

• Tools for supporting teacher noticing about classroom video in online professional development

  Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education · 2022-12-01 · 35 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Teachers’ noticing of students’ mathematical thinking plays an important role in supporting student learning. Yet little is known about how online professional development (PD)—a growing setting for PD in the USA—can cultivate this noticing. Here, we explore the potential of using two online tools for engaging video to support K-2 teachers’ noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in the context of a six-week online video-based PD program. While participating in the program, teachers used a commenting tool that allowed them to view video in its entirety and write a summary note, as well as a tagging tool that allowed them to mark moments of video while viewing and associate notes with those moments. We found that teachers’ regular use of the tagging tool promoted their increased noticing of students’ mathematical thinking in video. Further, the tagging tool and commenting tool appeared to function in complementary ways to support teachers’ noticing. These findings contribute to the field’s growing understanding of how technological advances can support the development and study of mathematics teacher noticing, with implications for the design of online teacher learning environments.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER:Understanding the Role of Video in Teacher Learning

  NSF · $642k · 2002–2009

Frequent coauthors

• Elizabeth A. van Es

  14 shared

• Rosemary S. Russ

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  11 shared

• Bruce Sherin

  11 shared

• Katherine A. Linsenmeier

  7 shared

• Victoria R. Jacobs

  University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  7 shared

• Spyridon Konstantopoulos

  6 shared

• Janet Walkoe

  6 shared

• Adam A. Colestock

  New York University Shanghai

  6 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Education

  Northwestern University

  1990

• M.A., Education

  University of Chicago

  1985

• B.A., Education

  University of Chicago

  1982