About this Research Topic

Background

The necessity of making the work of teaching visible to student teachers in the process of their learning is beyond contention. That is particularly so in mathematics teacher education where not only the general work of teachers, but also the meaningful engagement with the mathematical work of teaching are in need of explicit attention. Yet, it is simply not possible for teachers to make all aspects of their work visible, neither in their practice nor in their talk about it. Therefore, immersion in practice, although a necessary component, is not sufficient as an overarching pedagogy for teacher education; indeed several existing studies point to the inaccessibility of factors constituting good teaching. Theory plays an important role in helping to unpack the decisions informing actions. Despite that, while the field of mathematics education is ripe with theories, the way these may inform mathematics teacher education remains under-researched. As some studies have found, this may mean that the work of connecting theory and practice is left up to pre-service teachers.

The international research is plentiful in reports on interventions aimed at teaching student teachers’ aspects of deliberate practice. Many of these interventions aim to bridge the proclaimed gap between theory and practice in teacher education (e.g., microteaching, video-based teaching of noticing, joint post-lesson reflections, lesson study, and research during practicum). Yet, as these examples suggest, the interventions are often researched as singular pedagogies, not as part of a complete teacher education programme. We argue, as many have before us, that in order to inform mathematics teacher education comprehensively, we need careful consideration of how theories in mathematics education can contribute not only as content but also in aiding the understanding of student teacher professional learning. This suggests the relevance of considering the extension of current theorisations of mathematics, and its teaching and learning, to the field of mathematics teacher professional learning. The aim of this Research Topic is to continue the beginnings of the process of theorising in mathematics teacher education.

We are calling for papers that attempt to extend existing theorisations in mathematics education to the level of teacher education. What we ask is, if a specific theory describes learning mathematics in a particular way, what implications does this have for teacher education? What we ask is, if a philosophy of mathematics or a theory of learning mathematics is assumed, what implications does this have for mathematics teacher education?

Recently, we have seen some efforts made in this way of theorising. For instance, considering commognition, which starts from viewing mathematics as a discourse and learning mathematics as increasing participation in this discourse, efforts have been made to theorise how these processes can be facilitated by teachers and what this means to mathematics teacher professional learning. Similarly, starting from the anthropological theory of the didactic, researchers have begun to elaborate on the practice of teachers not only in but also outside of lessons, which again lends itself to informing teacher education.

Importantly, although our focus stems from theorising in mathematics learning, we welcome submissions that engage in the process of theorising teacher professional learning from other theoretical perspectives. We invite all empirical studies including case studies, literature reviews, and conceptual/theoretical elaborations.

Keywords: Mathematics education, Teacher education, Theory, Visible pedagogy, Work of teaching, Student teacher learning, Theorising, Teacher professional learning

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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