Startseite > Forschung > Laufende Projekte

Professional competence of mathematics teachers in the selection and orchestration of tasks

Responsible

Sabine Weideneder (Doctoral Training Program of the Munich Center of the Learning Sciences, MCLS)
Stefan Ufer

Project description

Tasks are a central element in implementing and planning mathematics instruction. Bromme (1981) found that mathematics teachers strongly concentrate on the selection of tasks and on the anticipation of the work with these tasks when planning a lesson. The COACTIV study could show that the didactical quality of tasks, especially the potential for cognitive activation, is a central predictor for increasing mathematical competence (Baumert et al., 2010). However, high-quality tasks alone do not guarantee a high quality of instruction. The learning success is connected closely to the way tasks are used as learning opportunities during instruction. The teacher plays a crucial role here (Stein & Lane, 1996). It has been shown that there is a significant connection between the professional knowledge of teachers and the quality of selected tasks.

The project will investigate the competencies of mathematics teachers concerning task analysis with respect to the didactic potential and possible task implementation. A qualitative pilot study will analyze which criteria teachers use while selecting and sequencing tasks during lesson planning, and whether qualitative differences in task sequences and planning processes can be identified in terms of well-established criteria of instruction quality.

Based on the preliminary study, the ideas of teacher professionalism research and mathematics-related instruction research, the competence facet " selecting and sequencing tasks in lesson planning" will be described in theoretical terms. The goal is to develop and evaluate a survey instrument which allows to analyze the relationship between this competence facet and other aspects of professional competence of mathematics teachers.

Conference articles and Conference contributions

Weideneder, S., Ufer, S. (2013). Which Kinds of Tasks do Mathematics Teachers Select for Instruction, and why? In: A. Lindmeier, A. Heinze (Eds.), Proceedings of the 37th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Volume 4, pp. 385-392. Kiel, Germany: PME.
Weideneder, S., Ufer, S. (2013). Die Auswahl von Aufgaben und deren Begründung in der Unterrichtsplanung von Mathematik-Lehrkräften. Beiträge zum Mathematikunterricht 2013.