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The use of the textbook as an artefact in the classroom

A case study in the light of a socio-didactical tetrahedron

Das Schulbuch als Artefakt in der Klasse

Eine Studie vor dem Hintergrund des soziodidaktischen Tetraeders

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Abstract

Mathematics textbooks have long been used as an educational tool for teaching and learning. They play an important role in various didactical situations both within and outside the classroom. After the previous large-scale quantitative research on the use of mathematics textbooks in lower secondary education in Croatia, a new study with a qualitative approach was conducted. The new study encompasses classroom observations and an in-depth interview with one mathematics teacher. The results of this study are explained using the socio-didactical tetrahedron and are compared with previous survey results on the extent to which mathematics textbooks are used in Croatian classrooms. The findings of this study indicate that the textbook has a significant role in mathematics lessons in which the aims of the teacher and the textbook are aligned. The study also offers some explanation as to why teachers rely on the textbook for preparation, teaching, and practicing. Here the extension of the didactical tetrahedron to a socio-didactical tetrahedron proved to be very valuable owing to the social factors involved in textbook use, which cannot be neglected.

Zusammenfassung

Mathematische Schulbücher werden seit langem als pädagogisches Werkzeug für das Lehren und Lernen eingesetzt. Sie spielen eine wichtige Rolle in verschiedenen didaktischen Situationen, sowohl innerhalb als auch außerhalb des Klassenzimmers. Nach der vorangegangenen quantitativen Untersuchung über die Verwendung von mathematischen Lehrbüchern im unteren sekundären Bildungsbereich in Kroatien wurde jetzt eine neue Studie mit qualitativem Ansatz durchgeführt. Diese neue Studie umfasst Unterrichtsbeobachtungen und ein ausführliches Interview mit einer Mathematiklehrerin. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie werden mit dem soziodidaktischen Tetraeder erläutert und mit den früheren Umfrageergebnissen verglichen, die sich auf den Umfang der Verwendung mathematischer Lehrbücher in kroatischen Klassenzimmern beziehen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Studie deuten darauf hin, dass Lehrbücher immer dann eine bedeutende Rolle im Mathematikunterricht spielen, wenn die Lehrziele des Lehrers mit dem entsprechenden Lehrbuchinhalt übereinstimmen. Die Studie bietet auch Erklärungen dafür, warum Lehrer sich auf Lehrbücher für die Vorbereitung, das Lehren und für Übungen verlassen. Hier hat sich die Erweiterung des didaktischen Tetraeders zu einem soziodidaktischen Tetraeder als sehr nützlich erwiesen, da man die sozialen Faktoren in der Verwendung von Lehrbüchern berücksichtigen muss.

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We sincerely thank the unknown reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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Correspondence to Ljerka Jukić Matić or Dubravka Glasnović Gracin.

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Jukić Matić, L., Glasnović Gracin, D. The use of the textbook as an artefact in the classroom. J Math Didakt 37, 349–374 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13138-016-0091-7

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