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In Pursuit of a Connected Way of Knowing: The Case of One Mathematics Teacher

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Abstract

In this paper, we offer illustrations of a mathematics teacher’s difficulties with content knowledge when trying to find connections between school mathematics and science; we do so by describing the development of this teacher’s thinking and learning in her pursuit of connections between the concepts of slope of a line and density of matter. The paper is based on a sub-study that is part of a larger Colombian project, PROMESA (Creating Science and Mathematics Connected Learning Experiences that Open Opportunities for the Promotion of Algebraic Reasoning), which incorporated a Professional Learning Programme (PLP) seeking to integrate school science and mathematics teachers into working teams, in order to create science and mathematics connected learning experiences that considered the promotion of algebraic reasoning. The ‘challenging questions’ that emerged for this teacher, during the workshops of the induction stage of the PLP, became the driving force for her continued engagement in learning mathematics content in a connected way, as opposed to the compartmentalised content-item thinking that she had experienced as a school student. We provide illustrations of first steps in the development of a teacher’s mathematical understanding, which can support growth of mathematical knowledge for teaching.

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Notes

  1. Clara showed awareness that the pairs of values from the figural pattern represented a set of points, not a line.

  2. Clara provided evidence of understanding of the connection between angle, ratio and slope, during a postgraduate-level unit of study in which she participated, 4 months after PROMESA ended.

  3. For example, Stump’s (2001) paper was translated into Spanish, with the author’s permission, and provided to all the PROMESA Project participants, during the induction stage of the PLP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bogotá, Colombia, South America

    Cecilia Agudelo-Valderrama

  2. Colegio Anexo San Francisco de Asís, Bogotá, Colombia, South America

    Diana Martínez

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  1. Cecilia Agudelo-Valderrama
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  2. Diana Martínez
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Correspondence to Cecilia Agudelo-Valderrama.

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Agudelo-Valderrama, C., Martínez, D. In Pursuit of a Connected Way of Knowing: The Case of One Mathematics Teacher. Int J of Sci and Math Educ 14, 719–737 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9598-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-014-9598-x

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