Hanna Palmér

Using tablet computers in preschool: How does the design of applications influence participation, interaction and dialogues?

The results in this article explore whether and how the design of applications used on tablet computers influences the interaction and dialogues that occur between children and pedagogues, the participation of children in the activities and the mathematics that can be learned. While mathematics offered a lens to explore the use of tablet devices, child–teacher interactions is the focus of this article. Twelve pedagogues were observed as they used different applications with 25 preschool children. These applications were categorised based on their classification (boundaries of the application) and framing (form of the application). It was shown that the same pedagogue interacted differently with the children based on the application they were using. Further, the childrens participation as well as the structure and content of the dialogues between pedagogues and children differed based on classification and the framing of the application used. The results indicate that the design of the applications influences the pedagogues and the educational context in which children are invited to participate.

The role of and connection between systematization and representation when young children work on a combinatorial task

ABSTRACT This article is about the systematization and representation young children spontaneously use when they are working on a combinatorial task. In this article, documentations from 123 children working on the same task are analysed. The question asked is if there are any connections between the systematizations and representations used in the documentations and how the children solve the task. The results indicate that there are some connections between systematization and representations and that both prepossess children’s solutions. In this paper, we provide some possible reasons; however, we also state that more studies are needed to give deeper insights on these issues.

Teaching for Entrepreneurial and Mathematical Competences: Teachers Stepping Out of Their Comfort Zone

This paper reports on an educational design research study exploring the potential in combining the teaching of entrepreneurial and mathematical competences in Swedish primary schools. The focus in ...

Professional primary school teacher identity development: a pursuit in line with an unexpressed image

The results presented in this article are taken from a case study of novice primary school mathematics teachers’ professional identity development from the perspective of the teachers themselves. The empirical material was collected through self-recordings, observations and interviews. The results show how the professional identity development of these novice teachers becomes a pursuit in line with their image of a primary school teacher. To develop a sense of themselves as primary school teachers they need to establish their own criteria - individual (including graduation and personal knowledge) and social (the ability to work in one school, have colleagues and have a class of their own for which they do the planning and teaching). These criteria are shown to be both a precondition for and a part of professional identity development. The novice teachers’ image of what it means to be a primary school teacher directs their actions and becomes the goal of their professional identity development. Because of its high impact, student and novice teachers’ image of primary school teachers ought to be made visible in both teacher education and teacher induction.

Collective and individual perspectives on preschool mathematics within a professional development programme

ABSTRACT This article explores collective and individual perspectives on preschool mathematics within a professional development programme. All seven teachers at one Swedish preschool participated in a one-year research-based professional development programme. At the beginning and then again at the end of the programme, the teachers collectively wrote down their goals for mathematics teaching at the preschool. In the article, these goals will be compared to three teachers’ individual writings during the year. This comparison indicates that the professional development of these teachers may have been collective, but not joint, as the collectively written goals seem to imply slightly different things for the individual teachers. Thus, what may look like collective goals for the teaching of mathematics at one preschool may in fact imply quite large differences in the mathematics teaching of individual teachers. If collective professional development programmes are to have an impact, differences between teachers need to be made visible and, as a next step, be the basis for the development of professional language as well as evaluation and planning of preschool mathematics and further professional development.

Teachers’ involvement in children’s mathematizing : beyond dichotomization between play and teaching

ABSTRACT The focus of this article is on mathematics teaching in a play-based and goal-oriented practice, such as preschool, and on how different lines of actions may impact children’s learning opportunities. Video recordings of authentic play activities involving children and nine teachers from different preschools were analyzed qualitatively to answer the following research questions: (1) What lines of action do teachers use when they teach mathematics in play? and (2) What implications may different ways of teaching have for children’s learning opportunities? The analysis revealed four different categories: confirming direction of interest; providing strategies; situating known concepts; and challenging concept meaning. As these differ regarding both the mathematics content focused on and the kind of knowledge emphasized, they have implications for children’s learning opportunities.

Combining entrepreneurship and mathematics in primary school – what happens?

ABSTRACT This article reports on an educational design research study exploring the potential of combining entrepreneurship and mathematics – two of the key competencies stressed as important in a society of lifelong learning. The aim of the study was to explore what happens when entrepreneurship is integrated into mathematics lessons. Eight Swedish primary schools were involved in the iterative design wherein researchers and teachers together planned, implemented, and evaluated lessons. The results indicate that combining entrepreneurial and mathematical competencies may produce a win-win situation. Entrepreneurial competencies can be of value when students are learning mathematics, and at the same time mathematics teaching can be organised so that students develop both mathematical and entrepreneurial competencies.

Enhancing young children’s understanding of a combinatorial task by using a duo of digital and physical artefacts

In mathematics education, digital tools have been used to enhance young children’s understanding of specific subject matter. In such implementations, the digital tool can replace, amplify or transf...

Primary School Students’ Images of Problem Solving in Mathematics

This paper focuses on primary school students’ images of problem solving in mathematics. The teachers of these students have been participating in a professional development programme on problem solving in mathematics involving them reading literature and conducting problem-solving lessons in their classes. One semester after the completion of this professional development programme, interviews were carried out with both teachers and students. These interviews show that the students have very different images of problem solving, both in relation to each other and in relation to the teachers. These different images may influence what these students think about problem solving and what they learn about and by problem solving, and may also influence the potential for their teachers to teach problem solving.

What is implied when researchers claim to use a theory

ABSTRACT The focus of this article is on the use of theories and on what we imply when we in research claim to use a theory. In this article, diverse uses of one theory will be illustrated with reference to 10 different studies. The aim is not to evaluate or judge how the theory is used in these studies, but to discuss how the diverse uses of one and the same theory may infer very different things in research. Questions are raised about what happens with the hierarchy and the coherence of an argument and what conclusions can be drawn when only some parts of a theory are used.