Richman, AndrewMiller, ElyssaBrakoniecki, AaronDietiker, LeslieWood, Marcy B.Turner, Erin E.Civil, MartaEli, Jennifer A.2017-08-312017-08-312016Andrew Richman, Elyssa Miller, Aaron Brakoniecki, Leslie Dietiker. 2016. "Opportunities created by misdirection in mathematics education." Proceedings of the 38th annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (pp. 109-112). Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona.https://hdl.handle.net/2144/23706This study provides evidence that enacted lessons based on written curriculum do not need to follow a direct curricular path from beginning to end. Deviations in this path, which we refer to as misdirection, can create opportunities for enhanced student interest in mathematical questions. We present three examples of misdirection from two enacted lessons and describe how they intensified student investment in the mathematics by creating contradictions that inspired students to ask their own mathematical questions. These examples can serve as models to teachers and curriculum writers who seek ways to motivate students to pursue mathematical understanding.109 - 112Articles published in the Proceedings are copyrighted by the authors. Permission to reproduce an article or portions from an article must be obtained from the author.Mathematics educationOpportunities created by misdirection in mathematics educationConference materials0000-0001-6678-5988 (Brakoniecki, Aaron)0000-0002-5331-1334 (Dietiker, Leslie)