Transition to digital resources as a critical process in teachers’ trajectories: the case of Anna’s documentation work

Abstract

In this paper we aim to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of digital resources on mathematics teachers’ work and professional development. For this purpose we focus on the emblematic case of an experienced mathematics teacher at secondary level, Anna, who has also worked as a teacher educator in a university department. Using the lens of the Documentational Approach to Didactics (DAD), we investigate her case, with a particular interest in digital resources, including both digital curriculum resources (e.g., e-textbooks, online resources) and digital technologies (e.g., for communicating, sharing). Two notions appear essential for supporting this investigation: the notion of resource system for studying the teacher’s activity as a whole, and the notion of documentational trajectory for studying the teacher’s activity over the time. Methodologically, specific tools were developed for gaining deeper insights into the teacher’s resource system, or her documentational trajectory. This study provides a window into mathematics teacher use and design of digital/non-digital resources in/for their teaching. Moreover, it helps us to develop better understandings of teacher professional learning over time, and of the ways the context of collaboration shapes their professional work and learning. More and also contrasting cases (e.g., of newly qualified teachers) would need to be studied to fully understand this field.