Helena Rocha

THE IMPACT OF THE CULTURAL CONTEXT ON THE PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE OF THE TEACHER

H. Rocha

Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (PORTUGAL)

The professional knowledge is a key element of the teacher’s practice. This knowledge is naturally influenced by the teacher’s beliefs and conceptions and by his training, but the context where he develops his practice is perhaps the most decisive influence. At this level, the school where the teacher works and his colleagues are a powerful influence, but the characteristics of his students are even a stronger influence. The cultural diversity of the students and specifically the linguistic diversity are highly relevant elements. A classroom where different languages converge is always a complex context which requires a deeper professional knowledge with inevitable repercussions over the teacher’s practice.

This study focuses on a teacher working with a mathematics’ class of foreign students with heavy linguistic limitations on the language of instruction and it intends to analyze the impact of this context on the teacher’s practice. In particular, it intends to analyze how this context interferes with the characteristics of the tasks proposed by the teacher and with the way how mathematical concepts are presented to the students.

The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative methodological approach, undertaking one teacher case study. Data were collected during one school year by semi-structured interviews, class observation, and documental data gathering. All interviews and classes observed were audio taped and transcribed. Data analysis was conducted in an interpretative way.

The conclusions reached point to an increase on the appreciation of mechanization, to a large reduction in the use of problematic situations and to a presentation of Mathematics as calculation, disconnected from any application, and where reasoning appears as a marginal element or is even missing. The use of several examples becomes a key element of the practice of this teacher. The main finding of this study suggests that language limitations caused a strong impact on the practice of a teacher who considers the understanding and the development of reasoning from the discussion around mathematical ideas as central to the teaching of this subject. It was also possible to identify that the need to find a way to communicate reinforced the formalism of the mathematical language, placing it in the center of the learning process.

Keywords: cultural context, teacher’s practice, mathematics.

The teacher's knowledge of the mathematical fidelity of technology and the impact it has on the teacher’s practice is the focus of this article. Based on the conceptualization of Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology (KTMT), and involving the teaching of Functions at the 10th grade, we analyze: the situations of lack of mathematical fidelity considered by the teacher in the classes, the way how the teacher manages students' contact with this kind of situations, and how the teacher supports students when they are faced with a lack of mathematical fidelity. The conclusions reached point to: some devaluation of the situations of lack of mathematical fidelity, with only one type of situation being explicitly addressed; a careful selection of tasks, in order to ensure that these situations do not occur too soon; a focus on the identification by the students of this type of situation, suggesting what they can do to confirm the suspicion but without effective implementation of the process. As a consequence, knowledge of mathematical fidelity does not necessarily have a relevant impact on teacher’s practice and it is not easily transformed into a deep teacher’s KTMT.

This study was conducted while 9th grade students learn to solve inequalities and seeks to understand their approach to solving problems with a real-life context. Specifically, the aim is to understand: (1) What are the main characteristics of the students’ approaches to the proposed problems? (2) What is the impact of the real context on the students’ resolutions? A qualitative and interpretative methodology is adopted, based on case studies, with data collected through documentary collection and audio recording of discussions between a pair of students while solving problems. The main conclusions suggest a trend to approach problems without establishing immediate connections with what was being done in the classroom, with students’ decisions being essentially guided by criteria of simplicity. The real context of the problems seems to have the potential to develop in students a more integrated mathematics, focused on understanding and not so much on the repetition of mechanical and meaning-independent procedures. The students’ familiarization with the context in question is one of the aspects highlighted by this study.

Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology (KTMT) is a theoretical model that seeks to articulate previously existing models on professional knowledge and the conclusions that the investigation around the integration of technology has achieved. KTMT is a dynamic knowledge, informed by the practice, that develops from the knowledge on the base domains (Mathematics, Teaching and Learning, Technology and Curriculum), evolving as knowledge in the base domains interacts and as this promotes the development of inter-domain knowledge, which continue to interact, strengthening relations and leading to the development of an integrated knowledge, where knowledge on the base domains and on the two sets of inter-domains appears deeply integrated into a global knowledge.

The teacher’s central role in technology integration and the challenges of that integration emphasise the need for a deeper understanding about the teacher’s knowledge required to teach with technology. Based on previous work and a systematic literature review, we identified three knowledge models often used: TPACK, KTMT and
PTK. The goal of this paper is to discuss the similarities and differences between these knowledge models and present a Global Model. This Global Model is not a new model. On the contrary, it is a model developed based on the existing models and intending to integrate in a single model the knowledge domains considered in the different existing models. The Global Model highlights the common domains considered and the common roots for the three models, but it also makes explicit the differences, mostly related to the understanding of the domains or even to the domains considered, and also to the way how the knowledge’s development is conceived.

This study intends to characterize how the teacher uses and integrates the different representations provided by the graphing calculator on the process of teaching and learning functions at the secondary level. Specifically, it intends to understand the balance established between the use of the different representations, and the way these representations are articulated. The conclusions reached point to an active use of the graphic and algebraic representations and to a scarce use of the tabular representation. The conclusions also point to a flexible articulation between the two representations usual used, assuming different forms and frequently an interactive approach, repeatedly switching between representations.

A formação e o desenvolvimento profissional do professor são determinantes para as opções que este assume na sala de aula. É o seu conhecimento, aquilo que valoriza e o contexto onde se encontra inserido que determinam as experiências de aprendizagem que proporciona aos seus alunos. Mas esse conhecimento profissional envolve uma multiplicidade de dimensões que decorrem da sua formação inicial e contínua, mas também das experiências que teve ocasião de vivenciar e de processos de socialização, onde a interação com os pares e as oportunidades de desenvolver trabalho colaborativo são elementos importantes. A aula de matemática surge assim como o campo aglutinador do trabalho do professor numa dupla vertente que se une num ciclo único: por um lado a aula de Matemática é o foco do trabalho do professor, onde as opções previamente assumidas são implementadas; e, por outro lado, é um ponto de partida para a reflexão e o desenvolvimento profissional do professor.

Da planificação da aula, onde a escolha das tarefas e a forma de as implementar são aspetos centrais e onde a vertente histórica não deixará de estar presente; à sua implementação, operacionalizando diferentes recursos (nomeadamente os tecnológicos) e assumindo dinâmicas de aula diferenciadas; até à fase de reflexão entre pares, que termina e reinicia um novo ciclo – estas são as grandes etapas em torno das quais este texto se organiza e onde a formação inicial e contínua não deixarão de estar presentes.

Perante as conhecidas dificuldades em alcançar uma adequada integração da tecnologia no processo de ensino e aprendizagem da Matemática, este estudo pretende, apoiando-se na formação ao nível da tecnologia ministrada em duas instituições europeias, identificar aspetos com potencial para promover a formação inicial, no âmbito da tecnologia, de professores de Matemática. Adota-se uma metodologia de índole qualitativa e interpretativa, sendo os dados recolhidos de natureza documental ou relativos a trabalhos de análise e reflexão crítica realizados por dois futuros professores (um de cada instituição). As principais conclusões alcançadas apontam para grandes diferenças entre os contextos de formação, com uma das instituições a valorizar de forma mais significativa a formação na área. Ainda assim, os futuros professores de ambas as instituições mostram alguma tendência para escolher tarefas onde a exploração que é feita da tecnologia fica aquém do seu potencial, onde o recurso ao papel e lápis está sempre presente, e onde a reflexão em torno das características das tarefas e da sua implementação parece ser algo superficial. Apesar da complexidade do processo de integração da tecnologia nas práticas, os aspetos referidos parecem-nos ser dignos de atenção em qualquer programa de formação inicial de professores de Matemática.

Research has highlighted the potential of technology to transform the teaching of Mathematics, but also the relevance of teachers and their professional knowledge. In this article, a qualitative methodology is adopted and two episodes of the practice of one teacher are analyzed in the scope of the study of functions in the 10th grade, based on the model of Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology (KTMT). The goal is to characterize the teacher's knowledge from her practice, simultaneously understanding how this contributes to promoting the development of the teacher's knowledge. The conclusions reached show the importance of including in the KTMT conception aspects highlighted by the research on technology integration. These aspects are determinant to characterize the teacher's knowledge. They also show the relevance of the practice for the development of the teacher's knowledge and the dynamic character of the vision of knowledge offered by KTMT.

This study aims to discuss similarities and differences between knowledge models focusing on technology, developing the Global Model. This is not a new model, but rather a contribution to the articulation between different conceptual frameworks.

Este estudo visa discutir semelhanças e diferenças entre modelos de conhecimento com foco na tecnologia, desenvolvendo a partir destes o Modelo Global. Este não é um novo modelo, mas antes um contributo para a articulação entre diferentes quadros conceptuais.

MATHEMATICS TEACHING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING COURSES
H. Rocha

Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (PORTUGAL)

Education and Training Courses have been specifically designed to the high number of young people in a situation of school dropout and in transition to working life, particularly those who enter the labor market early with insufficient levels of schooling and professional training. Mathematics is one of the curriculum components of these courses, for its contribution to the exercise of citizenship in a democratic society. Being an important part of the cultural legacy of our society is too often seen by students as a source of exclusion. It is known that young people who enter these courses often had an experience of underachievement in the discipline, what justifies that motivating students is at once the great challenge faced by the teacher. The program suggests taking a more concrete and linked to reality approach, allowing students to learn to recognize the mathematics in the world around them and using technology to promote that learning. However, it is the teacher who is responsible for managing its implementation, shaping the learning situations and integrating them in a coherent and articulated way in the specific course that students attend. In what concerns to assessment, the program also takes into account the usual characteristics of the students. Thus, the assessment includes a strong appreciation of students’ work, its presentation and discussion and further improvement of that work. The directions given to the teacher diverge from the traditional option of the evaluation test, providing guidelines to the form that each evaluation can take depending on the contents in study. However, once again, the teacher's role in curriculum management is not neglected, being valued the adequacy of proposals to the characteristics of the students.
The study presented here had as its main goal to analyze and understand the choices made by the teacher during the different stages of his practice, giving attention to the dilemmas he faced and to the reasons he took into account when making decisions.

The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative methodological approach, undertaking one teacher case study. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, classroom observation and document collection. Data analysis was based on the evidence gathered in the light of the problem under study.

The conclusions of the study point to the important role of technology and suggest that the reduction of prerequisites, the intention of taking into account the students’ interests and the desire of improving students culture is central in what concerns to task selection; while the active involvement of students characterized the implementation of the classes. The dilemmas faced by the teacher focus mainly on the relative importance and on the demanding level that he should give to each content, as well as the articulation that he should promote between formal and intuitive knowledge. In what concerns to assessment, the results achieved highlight the impact that students ideas can have on teacher’s practice, conducting to the inclusion of tests as an assessment element, against the teacher’s intentions.

keywords: education and training courses, mathematics, innovation, technology.

Teacher education is central to the development of the professional knowledge of pre-service teachers. The main goal of this paper is to refect on the development that the analysis (done by a group of pre-service secondary teachers) of a set of tasks, based on elements related to domains of KTMT—Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology—can bring to the knowledge of pre-service teachers of mathematics. Specifcally, the goal was to investigate the following questions: (1) What are the factors that guide the pre-service teachers’ task discussion? (2) Which KTMT domains are emphasized by pre-service teachers during task discussion? The elements taken into account are the characteristics of the tasks (focus on cognitive level, structuring level and technology role), the use of representations (focus on balance and articulation of representations), and the equilibrium between experimentation (focus on digital technology afordances) and justifcation (focus on argumentation and proof). The methodology of this case study involves a qualitative approach. The main conclusions suggest that infuences in the pre-service teachers’ discussion of tasks fell into the following categories: the potentialities of technology, the type of tasks, and the prospective teachers’ experience with a set of tasks, and analysis of some real students’ reports. With regard to KTMT, although it was possible to identify some global development, Teaching and Learning and Technology Knowledge was the domain in which stronger development took place.

Abstract. The recognition of the potential of technology for the teaching
and learning of mathematics has encouraged many studies around
technology. In all these studies, the integration, the utilization or the use of
technology is (or should be) necessarily an important element. In this paper
I consider the most common terminologies present in research and the
meaning assigned to them, based on a research review and on the analysis
of the studies presented in SIEM over the last five years. The conclusions
reached suggest a diversity of understandings and a lack of explicitness of
these understandings. However, different types of technology use seem to be
recognized, usually associated with continuity or change of practices. The
teacher's role and a more directive or more student-centered approach,
associated with a change in the proposed tasks, are also mentioned. In what
concerns to the terminology adopted, there is great diversity, with cases of
differentiation in terms of some of the elements listed and cases of adoption
of multiple terms with apparently identical meanings.

Resumo. O reconhecimento das potencialidades da tecnologia para o
ensino e aprendizagem da Matemática tem motivado diversos estudos em
torno da tecnologia. Em todos eles a integração, a utilização ou o uso que é
feito da tecnologia é (ou deveria ser) necessariamente um elemento
importante. Neste artigo procuro ponderar as terminologias mais comuns
na investigação e o significado que lhes é atribuído, partindo de uma
revisão de literatura e analisando os estudos apresentados no SIEM nos
últimos cinco anos. As conclusões alcançadas apontam para uma
diversidade de entendimentos e para uma ausência de explicitação desses
entendimentos. Ainda assim, parecem ser reconhecidos diferentes tipos de
utilização da tecnologia, geralmente associados à manutenção ou alteração
das anteriores práticas. O papel do professor e o assumir de uma postura
mais diretiva ou mais centrada no aluno, associada a uma alteração
relativamente às tarefas propostas, são igualmente referidos. Quanto à
terminologia adotada, a diversidade é grande, com casos de diferenciação
em função de alguns dos elementos referidos e com casos de adoção de
múltiplos termos aparentemente com significados idênticos.

Os cursos de Educação e Formação de Adultos prevêem uma avaliação que se afasta do tradicionalmente implementado nas escolas, propiciando o emergir de processos de mudança. Neste estudo analisa-se a forma como um formador concretiza a avaliação, ponderando continuidades e descontinuidades relativamente a práticas anteriores, com a intenção de caracterizar o inerente processo de mudança e os factores que o influenciam.
As conclusões obtidas sugerem um processo de mudança complexo, cuja necessidade não é verdadeiramente reconhecida, e onde parece ser determinante a reflexão do formador sobre os formandos, o contexto existente e algumas opções ao nível local da escola.

This study intends to analyze the perspectives of teachers of different levels regarding proof and its functions in Mathematics and Mathematics teaching. Adopting a methodology of a qualitative nature, and based on interviews, the perspectives of teachers of upper secondary, higher education and training teachers of Mathematics were collected. The conclusions reached suggest that teachers seem to share a formal conception of mathematical proof, recognizing the need to introduce some simplification when considering proof in Mathematics teaching as well as the importance of their functions of validation, contribution to learning and even a cultural function.

Teachers are central to the choice of tasks proposed to the students. And the teachers’ knowledge is one of the important elements guiding these choices. Despite the different models that conceptualize the teachers’ knowledge to integrate technology in their practices, research has focused essentially on the integration of a single technology. Little is known about how the work with different technologies can contribute to promote the development of the professional knowledge of pre-service teachers (PTs) or how the use of different technologies mobilizes different domains of the PTs’ knowledge. The main goal of this study is to deepen the understanding about the relation between the PTs’ Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology (KTMT) and their choice of tasks. The study adopts a qualitative and in-terpretative methodology based on one case study. The main conclusions suggest a strong impact of the PTs’ Learning and Teaching Technology Knowledge (a knowledge related to the impact of technology on the teaching and learning process) and a not so strong impact of their Mathematical and Technological Knowledge (a knowledge related to the impact of technology on the mathematical knowledge). The conclusions also point to the potential of the work with different technologies to deepen the PTs reflections and analysis of tasks.

Os Cursos de Educação e Formação (CEF) foram concebidos tendo presente o elevado número de jovens em situação de abandono escolar, alunos usualmente marcados por experiências de insucesso, em particular a Matemática. O programa de Matemática Aplicada tem em conta esta realidade, tanto ao nível das aprendizagens como das metodologias e das características da avaliação a implementar. Relativamente à avaliação sumativa, é valorizado o trabalho desenvolvido pelo aluno, a sua apresentação, discussão e melhoria. As indicações dadas ao professor afastam-se da opção tradicional do teste de avaliação. O papel do professor na gestão curricular não é contudo negligenciado, sendo valorizada a adequação das propostas às características dos alunos. Este estudo pretende analisar as concepções de alunos e professores relativamente à avaliação sumativa, procurando compreender a forma como se influenciam mutuamente e como afectam a prática de avaliação do professor. Foram realizados três estudos de caso, incidindo sobre alunos e respectivo professor. Os dados foram recolhidos através de entrevistas, observação de aulas e recolha documental. Os resultados alcançados sugerem uma forte valorização dos testes por parte dos alunos, sendo notória a influência sobre as opções assumidas pelo professor. Determinantes parecem ser as concepções dos alunos relativamente ao papel de alunos e professores no que à avaliação respeita.

The different representations of functions are assumed as central on the development of the concept of function. Being widely recognized the complexity of this concept, the different representations allow the student to understand in a representation what could not be understood in another representation. And the integration of technology into the teaching and learning process provides an easy and quick way to access different representations. This study intends to analyse the understanding of upper secondary students about the information transmitted by each of the representations of functions usually available on technology. Specifically, it intends to understand which transitions between representations are more easily understood by the students and which ones are more difficult to perform. It also intended to identify some aspects that may contribute to this. This study adopts a quantitative methodology in which the answers given by a class to a test focused on the transition from one representation to another are analysed; and a qualitative methodology based on interviews to three of the students in the class, as a way of seeking comprehension about their answers. The results achieved suggest a greater ease of understanding associated to the graphical representation and a greater difficulty associated to the tabular representation. The reasons for this seem to be related to the specific characteristics of each representation, but fundamentally with aspects related to the experiences lived by the students on the mathematics classes, being the integration of technology an influence not to neglect.

Teacher education is central to promote the development of the professional knowledge of teachers, and
to help them achieve an appropriate integration of digital technologies, an issue that has proved to be a
difficult one. Several authors refer difficulties in the integration of the technology, emphasizing the central
role played by the teachers’ knowledge in classroom use. In this paper we discuss three models (TPACK
– Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge, KTMT – Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with
Technology, PTK / MPTK - Mathematical Pedagogical Technology Knowledge), intending to identify the
main contributions of each model to a deeper understanding of how to promote the teachers’ integration
of technology in the teaching of Mathematics. The study is based on a literature review and on an analysis
of the similarities and differences among the models and its use. On this analysis we identify common
influences among the models as well as influences from other research areas. The main conclusions
achieved point to a common base to all the models considered, but also to several differences among
them, being that some of the models emphasize the role of technology and its impact on Mathematics
learning, but others go further, intending to integrate in the model elements based on the research on
technology or even other theories such as the one on instrumental genesis.

This study focuses on teacher’s Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics with Technology (KTMT), paying a special attention to teacher’s representational fluency. It intends to characterize how the teacher uses and integrates the different representations provided by the graphing calculator on the process of teaching and learning functions at the high school level. Specifically, it intends to understand the balance established between the use of the different representations, and the way these representations are articulated. The study adopts a qualitative approach undertaking one teacher case study. Data were collected for two school years, at 10th and 11th grades, and included class observation, semi-structured interviews and documents gathering. Data analysis was mainly descriptive and interpretive in nature, considering the problem under study. The conclusions reached reveal an active use of the graphical and algebraic representations and a scarce use of the tabular representation. The lack of balance on the use of representations also includes the work within a representation. In this case the graphical representation is the only one that was explored. The conclusions also indicate a flexible articulation between the two representations usually used. It was possible to identify different patterns on the use of the representations and a frequent use of an interactive approach, marked by repeated alternations between representations. Globally, this study emphasizes teacher’s KTMT and raises questions about the impact of technology on teacher´s representational fluency and about the difference between a numerical and a tabular representation.