Empirical research on teacher competence in mathematics lesson planning: recent developments

Abstract

Lesson planning is of central importance to the teaching of all subjects in school. However, despite its high relevance, there is still a substantial need for a comprehensive review of factors affecting lesson planning. Empirical evidence on how teachers’ competence in lesson planning can be developed, what challenges may be encountered during the lesson planning process, and successful lesson planning designs and practices should come to light on. To close this gap the current paper presents the results of a systematic review of 20 empirical research studies on teacher competence in mathematics lesson planning. For detailed insight into the most recent contributions of the reviewed studies on mathematics lesson planning, we analyzed studies conducted during the past decade, adapting the “process model of lesson planning” and the model of “competence as continuum” as a heuristic for approaching lesson planning. We present key results of the studies related to four major themes: (1) dispositions and their influence on developing and implementing lesson plans, (2) quality aspects of lesson plans and the development of lesson planning skills, (3) difficulties in lesson planning, and (4) the relationship between lesson planning skills and performance in implementation of lesson plans. The results of our literature review reveal that teachers (especially novice teachers) face difficulties in lesson planning and their overall competence (and knowledge) are not at an expert level. However, as the results of the examined studies pointed out, teachers can acquire such competence and knowledge through training within initial teacher education and professional development. Overall, teachers need support in planning mathematics lessons by delineating their lesson plan to improve their awareness of students’ thinking, possible learning trajectories, effective usage of the curriculum and teaching resources, and the potential of innovative pedagogies that incorporate new technology.

Using ChatGPT as a Lesson Planning Assistant with Preservice Secondary Mathematics Teachers

“…This is because the sum of the coordinates must always be 10. In summary, the set of graphed points forms a straight line with a slope of -1, passing through the point (5,5). The coordinates of these points have a difference of 1, and this pattern continues inde nitely in both directions along the line.…”

“…Further, Lim et al found that even high-performing PSTs were much more skillful in enacting lessons but "have yet to develop skills in lesson planning" (2018, p. 528). Similarly, Cevikbas et al, (2023), found that PSTs found it di cult to create their own plans and nd suitable activities and problems for students, and found some evidence for the use of technology to facilitate lesson planning. Sahin-Taskin (2017) found that the initial steps for planning were especially di cult for PSTs, particularly nding suitable activities.…”

“…Researchers have found that PSTs have a great deal of di culty planning lessons, (Cevikbas et al, 2023;Lilly et al, 2022;Lim et al, 2018; Sahin-Taskin, 2017). Lim et al (2018) found that PSTs performed better when modifying existing lesson plans or synthesizing existing components of lessons, rather than trying to create lessons from scratch.…”

“…**Graphing These Pairs:** If you consider each pair as an ordered pair on the coordinate plane and graph them, you will notice that they all lie on a straight line with a slope of -1. This line passes through the point (5,5), which represents the pair (5,5) where both numbers are 5, making the line symmetrical.…”

“…Another use of GAI is to prompt it to solve mathematics problems so that PSTs are aware of different possible solutions to the problems they are posing to their students. Lesson planning is of particular interest, since researchers have found that PSTs have di culty planning lessons (Cevikbas et al, 2023;Lim et al, 2018;Sahin-Taskin, 2017). Many PSTs rst encounter the requirement to plan a lesson in a methods class, often through a microteaching experience.…”