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Pre-service teachers’ experiences within modelling scenarios enriched by digital technologies

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Abstract

This paper presents issues related to the use of technology by secondary school pre-service mathematics teachers engaged in open mathematical modelling projects. Pre-service teachers developed these projects within a regular mathematics education course during the teacher education program at the university concerned. This environment, called a modelling scenario, is the context for our study, which is based on the analysis of projects produced by seven consecutive cohorts of pre-service teachers beginning in 2010. The research questions guiding our study seek to determine which technologies pre-service teachers chose, for which modelling purposes they chose them, and in which phases of the modelling process they were significantly used. During the modelling process, pre-service teachers used the Internet, spreadsheets, mathematical software and programming languages. The Internet, the most utilized technology, was used to find information or data, to select variables, or to formulate problems. The other three technologies significantly influenced the processes of mathematical solution and validation. The in-depth analysis of a single project shows an original use of visual affordances of technologies and a dialectical relationship between problem posing and technology use. The study enables us to conclude the necessity for coordinated action between mathematics educators and mathematicians to generate a deeper understanding of modelling as a pedagogical proposal and mathematical activity.

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Fig. 1

(adapted with permission from Bassanezi 2002, p. 27)

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Notes

  1. To avoid repetition, at times we will use “modelling” in place of “mathematical modelling”.

  2. To avoid repetition, at times we will use “technologies” in place of “digital technologies”.

  3. From now on, if nothing else is specified, “students” will refer to “pre-service teachers”.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out with the financial support of the Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica–Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. We would like to thank the meaningful and insightful suggestions of the reviewers in previous versions of this paper. Finally, we would like to thank our students Felipe, Gastón and Otto for their help in providing us with images and data corresponding to their modeling project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Córdoba, Argentina

    Mónica E. Villarreal

  2. Faculty of Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics and Computation, University of Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba, Argentina

    Mónica E. Villarreal, Cristina B. Esteley & Silvina Smith

Authors
  1. Mónica E. Villarreal
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  2. Cristina B. Esteley
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  3. Silvina Smith
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Correspondence to Mónica E. Villarreal.

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Villarreal, M.E., Esteley, C.B. & Smith, S. Pre-service teachers’ experiences within modelling scenarios enriched by digital technologies. ZDM Mathematics Education 50, 327–341 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-0925-5

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