The Mathematics Teacher in the Digital Era

This volume addresses the key issue of the initial education and lifelong professional learning of teachers of mathematics to enable them to realize the affordances of educational technology for mathematics. With invited contributions from leading scholars in the field, this volume contains a blend of research articles and descriptive texts.

In the opening chapter John Mason invites the reader to engage in a number of mathematics tasks that highlight important features of technology-mediated mathematical activity. This is followed by three main sections:

• An overview of current practices in teachers’ use of digital technologies in the classroom and explorations of the possibilities for developing more effective practices drawing on a range of research perspectives (including grounded theory, enactivism and Valsiner’s zone theory).
• A set of chapters that share many common constructs (such as instrumental orchestration, instrumental distance and double instrumental genesis) and research settings that have emerged from the French research community, but have also been taken up by other colleagues.
• Meta-level considerations of research in the domain by contrasting different approaches and proposing connecting or uniting elements  

“There is no doubt that today we have entered the digital era, and that integrating this reality into mathematics education is no longer an option. … There is no doubt that this book well reflects the current state of the art in this area … . I recommend its reading to all those who are interested in technology focused teacher practices and teacher professional development.” (Michèle Artigue, Educational Studies in Mathematics, Vol. 90, 2015)

“It is useful to anyone who wants to get a clear picture of what we know about the uses of technology through the lens of the teacher in real mathematics classrooms … . It affords reading from multiple perspectives and promises to be a good tool for teacher education and post-graduate courses. It will also serve as an informative basis on which to engage in further research and acquire sensitivityto new contexts and technological developments for mathematics education.” (Chronis Kynigos, Technology, Knowledge and Learning, Vol. 19, 2014)

"This book opens new windows on the complexity of interactions around mathematics teaching and learning in the digital era. Its focus is largely, but not exclusively, on the teacher and the pressures and constraints of this role. The book could serve as an excellent introduction for teachers and researchers to the wealth of theories, insights and methodologies adopted in the area. It is a challenging read because of its diversity and range. Complexity suffuses the text (the word is used many many times in different forms). However the editors offer a helpful journey through the text and and an invaluable summary of the similarities and differences between theoretical constructs, contexts and implications. There are many 'gems' to read in this book that shine a light on the potential and affordances of the exploitation of digital technologies and illustrate how research and theory together can add value to practice." (Professor Celia Hoyles, Institute of Education, University of London)

"The book is required reading for all those who seek to exploit the potential of digital technologies for teaching some of the most powerful, and difficult, creations of the human mind. It finally lays to rest the myth that teaching mathematics with digital technologies is somehow a merely marginal development of what it takes to teach in the pre-digital era. It similarly challenges the ubiquitous idea that the computer presence can, and should, replace the roles currently undertaken by the teacher, and that simply endowing classrooms with technology will somehow result in more effective learning. Drawing on a range of methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and specific technologies, the authors illustrate the complex interactions between pedagogy and knowledge, and draw conclusions for any who seek to understand, and to change, the practice of mathematics teaching." (Professor Richard Noss, London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London.)

"The Mathematics Teacher in the Digital Era provides essential insights on a centrally important theme in today's mathematics education: harnessing the capabilities of technology for mathematics learning. The chapters move far beyond commonplace and superficial descriptions of teachers' changing role (e.g. the "guide on the side") to consider the processes by which teachers deeply integrate technology into the core of their classrooms, thereby developing and implementing innovative practices of teaching and learning mathematics. Throughout, the authors honor the difficulties, challenges, and obstacles to using technology well, and use their research to illuminate a realistic pathway for teacher professional development. In one convenient volume, this book gathers the key frameworks for making sense of how teacher and technology mutually adapt in order to use mathematical tools to their full potential, while illustrating, elaborating, and critiquing each framework based on sound research.The guidance in this state of the art volume should be in the hands of all who are working with mathematics teachers to realize the promise of technology for deeply advancing students' learning." (Jeremy Roschelle, Center for Technology in Learning , SRI International)