Connections Identified by Teacher Educators Between the Mathematics They Teach and the Mathematics Their Students Will Teach in the Future

Abstract

The relationship between the mathematics taught in teacher training and the mathematics demanded in teaching practices is an issue that has been problematized for many years in the field of Mathematics Education. Nonetheless, recent studies show it is still a focus of interest in the field. In this study, we have identified different connections that teacher educators are able to establish between the mathematics they teach and that which their students, prospective mathematics teachers, will have to teach eventually. We have conducted an in-depth case study and have identified that teacher educators establish content connections, modeled instruction connections, and disciplinary practice connections. Furthermore, we have reported the main difficulties that arise in establishing these connections. Additionally, we have identified a new type of connection, which we call professional practice connections.

Emerging perspective of a mathematics teacher educator on connections between advanced and school mathematics

“…Furthermore, there seems to be a trend in mathematics education research around the idea of connections between mathematics taught in university and the mathematics taught in schools (De los Ángeles et al, 2022;Murray et al, 2017;Rina & Roza, 2010;Suominen, 2018;Ticknor, 2012). Some studies involved mathematicians (Yan et al, 2021), while others engaged mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) who intimated that they lacked the experience of having taught mathematics at school level (De los Ángeles et al, 2022). Rina and Roza (2010) promoted a requirement for teachers' understanding of connections in mathematics subject matter.…”