Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic offers a rare chance for educators and decision-makers to re-evaluate the educational systems and redefine what is significant, essential, and desirable for future generations. As a result, higher education institutions are being forced to change their curricula, pedagogies, and educational management due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the majority of countries are already in the endemic stage, COVID-19's inevitable transformation of higher education is still happening. While the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the use of several digital technology tools and software for teaching and learning across different disciplines, several questions arise with regard to its suitability in mathematics education. This question ranges from the selection of appropriate content/tasks to its assessment. Despite the best efforts of educators to lessen the difficulties of teaching mathematics during COVID-19, evidence from the literature shows that it might be pointless to transfer our current concepts of teaching and learning mathematics into a new digital learning environment. Hence, the present study seeks to examine the strategies that higher education institutions employed in dealing with unknown uncertainties during and after the pandemic and its implication for mathematics teacher preparation programs. Underpinned by an interpretivist paradigm, this study will employ a qualitative research approach and a case study design. Data will be generated through an in-depth interview with a total of four mathematics educators, the head of the department, and thirty-five third and fourth-year student teachers majoring in mathematics education at a selected university. Data gathered will be analysed thematically, and all ethical issues, such as confidentiality, anonymity, and privacy of the participants, will be respected. It is therefore hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to how the community of mathematics educators can come up with fresh ideas for what the standard of great online mathematics learning will be in the future. From a practical perspective, the findings might provide insight into how the university administration can prioritize sustainability, online learning, digital transformation, resilience, and change management. The findings may also serve as a guide for educators, decision-makers, and other key stakeholders as they get ready for upcoming changes in the education sector.

Keywords:

COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation, higher education institutions, mathematics education, teacher preparation program.