Abstract:

Classroom situations represented in cartoon format offer chances for profession-related learning opportunities of pre-service mathematics teachers, in particular when implemented digitally in a moodle-based environment. If the pre-service teachers have additionally the possibility of manipulating the cartoon, changing it or creating their own classroom situations within the moodle-based digital tool, further learning formats become possible, such as specifying changes in the teacher reaction within the cartoon and depicting their possible outcome, as well as making such situation depictions available for further collaborative reflection in the seminar group.

We frame this work from the theoretical perspective by connecting to approaches to teacher noticing and to mathematics teachers’ knowledge-based reasoning on classroom situations (Sherin et al., 2011; Kuntze & Friesen, 2018). In particular, teachers’ analysis of representations of practice (Buchbinder & Kuntze, 2008), such as of classroom situations can stimulate pre-service teachers to connect elements of mathematics education theory, such as criterion knowledge which allows the analysis of mathematical thinking, with observations the teachers make in classroom situations (Kuntze & Friesen, 2018). Encouraging such reflection and analysis in corresponding case-based seminar settings thus offers the pre-service teachers possibilities of building up and training competences of criteria-based analysis – on which they can draw later when they face classroom practice contexts in their teaching profession.

A shift from theory-oriented pre-service teacher education towards case-based approaches with a focus on classroom situations is hence an approach promising corresponding added values for the pre-service teachers’ competence development. Such an approach can be facilitated through the digital implementation and representation possibilities of classroom situation cartoons which have been developed in the ERASMUS+ Project coReflect@maths (“Digital Support for Teachers' Collaborative Reflection on Mathematics Classroom Situations”, www.coreflect.eu): The digital DIVER CREATE tool allows the creation and manipulation of classroom cartoons within a moodle learning platform, while offering time-saving pre-set classroom scenarios for further graphical modification within the tool (DIVER stands for “Designing and Investigating Vignettes in teacher Education and Research”). Classroom cartoons can be designed with a focus on specific theoretical criteria from mathematics education research or theory, they may reduce the complexity which is often contained in classroom videos by avoiding unnecessary context information and distracting features – but with the help of DIVER CREATE, also course participants can manipulate or design classroom cartoons and hand them in digitally within the moodle environment. In a variety of possible settings for profession-related learning and reflection, the functionality of the digital tool DIVER CREATE can support the enactment of case-based seminars.

As a first answer to the research need related to these novel possibilities for the professional learning of mathematics teachers, a feasibility study was carried out: A case-based learning design for a one-semester seminar was designed with the support of the digital DIVER CREATE tool and data of learning outcomes were collected. We present the seminar course concept and give insight into selected findings.

Keywords:

Classroom situation cartoons, digital implementation, case-based seminar concept, feasibility study.