Exploring School Mathematics as a Source for Pedagogic Reflections in Teacher Education

Abstract

An initiative of professional development was set up with/for secondary mathematics teachers in order to offer them opportunities to engage in deep explorations of school mathematics content. This article reports on how, through these mathematical explorations, teachers did much more than develop their mathematical knowledge as they also engaged unexpectedly in rich pedagogical considerations and reflections about their teaching of mathematics (in this case, the volume of solids). These pointed to a strong connection existing between the teachers’ mathematical knowledge and their “teaching” knowledge, as developing mathematical understandings led them to developments about their teaching. This interconnection is further explored through excerpts where teachers’ teaching orientations and mathematical knowledge appear inextricably intertwined, one influencing the other in a dynamic relationship, leading to enriched comprehensions of the interplay existing between teachers’ knowledge of content and of pedagogy.