Integration of technology in planning lessons following an exploratory approach: a study with prospective mathematics teachers

Abstract

The present study was carried out in the didactic component of the Master’s degreee in Mathematics Teaching for the 3rd cycle of elementary  school and high school, at University of Lisbon, with the goal of understanding the professional knowledge of prospective teachers (PT) regarding the integration of digital technologies in mathematics teaching, from the perspective of exploratory teaching. Adopting the theoretical model of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) it was specifically aimed to to know the level of development of PT’s TPACK in the dimensions of curriculum, learning, and teaching. The data analysis focuses on the detailed lesson plans that the PT groups have elaborated and their justifications for the options taken, in two consecutive semesters of the course. The results show a positive evolution of PT’s TPACK in the different dimensions, with a higher progression in the dimension concerning learning. However, it was observed from the proposals that PTs include in their plans that activities of high level thinking are not sufficiently targeted nor the student's autonomy is promoted  in their learning about the use of technology to solve the proposed  tasks. Recognizing that planning for the technology integration into mathematics teaching is a complex practice, meaningful experiences, closer to classroom reality, are required during initial training so that PTs’ learners se  technology in order to transform teaching and create opportunities for studenta’  learning within the framework of the exploratory teaching.