Learning mathematics in a classroom community of inquiry

This article considers the question of what specific actions a teacher might take to create a culture of inquiry in a secondary school mathematics classroom. Sociocultural theories of learning provide the framework for examining teaching and learning practices in a single classroom over a two-year period. The notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is invoked as a fundamental framework for explaining learning as increasing participation in a community of practice characterized by mathematical inquiry. The analysis draws on classroom observation and interviews with students and the teacher to show how the teacher established norms and practices that emphasized mathematical sense-making and justification of ideas and arguments and to illustrate the learning practices that students developed in response to these expectations.

Understanding technology integration in secondary mathematics: Theorising the role of the teacher

Previous research on computers and graphics calculators in mathematics education has examined effects on curriculum content and students’ mathematical achievement and attitudes while less attention has been given to the relationship between technology use and issues of pedagogy, in particular the impact on teachers’ professional learning in specific classroom and school environments. This observation is critical in the current context of educational policy making, where it is assumed – often incorrectly – that supplying schools with hardware and software will increase teachers’ use of technology and encourage more innovative teaching approaches. This paper reports on a research program that aimed to develop better understanding of how and under what conditions Australian secondary school mathematics teachers learn to effectively integrate technology into their practice. The research adapted Valsiner’s concepts of the Zone of Proximal Development, Zone of Free Movement and Zone of Promoted Action to devise a theoretical framework for analysing relationships between factors influencing teachers’ use of technology in mathematics classrooms. This paper illustrates how the framework may be used by analysing case studies of a novice teacher and an experienced teacher in different school settings.