Ruth Parker and Patty Lofgren, 2000 The Focused Survey can be used as a tool for professional development, self-reflection, and collegial supervision. It supports educators working to change their instructional practice so that all students can become mathematically powerful.
Number Talks
- Teacher is purposeful in selecting problems.
- Students readily share diverse strategies.
- Students and teacher listen to, talk about, question and build on each other’s ideas.
- Teacher listens to children’s thinking and asks questions that probe for understanding.
Implementation Scale 
Instructional Practice
- Teacher is clear about the mathematics content of the lesson.
- The students are intellectually engaged in important ideas relevant to the focus of the lesson.
- Students demonstrate persistence in solving problems.
- Students are frequently asked to explain their thinking and readily share ideas.
- Confusion and/or mistakes are viewed as a natural part of the process and are used as opportunities for learning.
- Evidence of substantive content is visible in the room (e.g. charts and other data sets, and records of mathematics investigations both completed and in progress are posted).
- Teacher uses appropriate questioning strategies to stimulate student thinking. Teachers and students use the language of mathematics.
- Students are successful in using mathematical ideas to solve problems.
Implementation Scale
Classroom as a community of learners
- Respect for ideas is evidenced in the following ways:
- children are encouraged to share their ideas and solutions;
- diverse ways of solving problems are explored;
- teachers and students ask probing questions as they work to understand mathematical ideas and make sense of situations.
- Students work both independently and collaboratively.
- There is active participation on the part of all.
- Room facilitates working in collaborative groups.
Implementation Scale
Reprinted with permission: Mathematics Education Collaborative