Professional Learning Opportunities Regarding the Concept of Function in a Practice-based Teacher Education Program

André Luis Trevisan,João Pedro Da Ponte,Alessandro Jacques Ribeiro

doi:10.29333/iejme/6256

Abstract

Teachers’ professional knowledge has been an active area in the field of mathematics education research in the last decades, but we still know very little regarding how teachers learn. This article aims to identify learning opportunities experienced by two teachers regarding mathematical and didactical knowledge for the teaching of function, in a context of practice-based learning. To this end, we analyze data from a practice-based teacher education program based on a cycle that incorporates three segments of teachers’ practice: planning, enacting and reflecting on a high school mathematics lesson, conducted from the perspective of inquiry-based teaching. We analyze two strands of the professional knowledge mobilized by the teachers, namely (i) the mathematics knowledge for teaching function, (ii) the knowledge for teaching practice, regarding function. The results indicate learning opportunities that emerged from the work done, regarding the use of the classroom as a teaching professional learning environment: the search for ways to encourage students to participate in the discussions; the recognition of the potential of the chosen lesson plan for the covariational approach , the importance of organizing mathematical discussion practices for students’ learning, organizing the time devoted to whole-class discussions and preparing for leading them and the potential of a class developed from the perspective of inquiry-based teaching.

Highlights

While recognizing the crucial role of teachers in student learning, approaches to their own initial and continuing education often do not help teachers to develop the necessary knowledge for practice (Ball & Even, 2009)
We present and analyze the categories that emerged from the data regarding the TWO broad strands of the mathematics teachers’ professional knowledge mobilized by the teachers involved in working with the PDR cycle: (i) mathematical knowledge for teaching function, and (ii) knowledge of teaching practice when teaching function
Simone did not participate in the elaboration of planning step http://www.iejme.com (Plan) A, she acknowledged during the presentation of the lesson plans that it had potential for exploring covariational thinking

Summary

Introduction

While recognizing the crucial role of teachers in student learning, approaches to their own initial and continuing education often do not help teachers to develop the necessary knowledge for practice (Ball & Even, 2009). More research is necessary to understand the relationship between the mobilization of teachers’ professional knowledge and teachers’ learning, as well as the contexts that support its development. Since teachers’ professional knowledge is “above all oriented towards a practical activity (...), relying on the goal of this paper is to survey and identify PLO experienced by two teachers, in a practicebased learning context, regarding the mathematical and didactical knowledge for teaching of function. In order to operationalize this goal, we formulate the following research questions: (i) what mathematical and didactical knowledge two teachers mobilize when planning, developing and collectively discussing a lesson about the concept of function? We initially present a theoretical framework that discusses the teachers’ professional knowledge and the PLO, focusing on mathematical and didactical knowledge for teaching function. After analyzing and interpreting the data, we present the conclusions and final considerations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion