Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Learning in Supporting Teachers to Link Mathematics and Workplace Situations in Classroom Teaching

Abstract

The chapter focuses on the attempts of a group of mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) to support teachers in exploiting workplace situations in their mathematics teaching. We report on MTEs’ professional learning in the context of a European-funded project which brought together 18 partners from 13 countries. In Greece, 11 MTEs (academic researchers, teachers and mentors) with different research and teacher education experiences worked with thirteen groups of practising teachers who collaborated to plan, enact and reflect on lessons aligned to the aims of the project. The project provided substantial opportunities for challenging MTEs’ professional knowledge and teacher education practice. The analysis of the discussions during a series of meetings, where design and reflection on professional development activities took place, allowed for identifying and describing MTEs’ concerns and emerging tensions. Using the construct of boundary crossing we traced shifts in MTEs’ movements across different practices indicating an interplay of research, teacher education and mathematics teaching.